File online
You may file a claim for unemployment benefits in Illinois on the Internet at Illinois Department of Employment Security.
File by phone:
To file an unemployment insurance benefit
claim in Illinois, call Tele-Serve in-state at
(888) 337-7234
or the hearing-impaired line
at 1-800-662-3943.
Generally, to be found eligible for benefits, you must be unemployed through no fault of your own, have earned wages in insured employment, be available for new work and be actively seeking work.
You may be disqualified from receiving benefits because you:
There are other disqualifications, as well.
There are Illinois Employment & Training Centers (IETC's) and IDES offices located throughout the state where individuals can file an "initial claim" for benefits. To find the location and phone number of your office, enter your zip code or call the IDES Telephone Information System or "Tele-Serve" at (888) 337-7234.
State of Illinois Unemployment Benefit Information
General information is available through Tele-Serve 24 hours a day, 7 days a week using your touch-tone phone. Press "1" to continue in English, or wait for next option. At the next selection, press 5-1-2 and enter your five-digit zip code.
Regular office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except state holidays.
You will need either a valid social security card or some other identification card that bears your social security number. In addition, you must present a second form of positive identification.
We will also need to know the employers you worked for during the past two years, their addresses, the dates you worked there and why you are no longer employed there.
If you have dependent children you will need to supply their names and birth dates, or if you have a non-working spouse you will need to supply his or her social security number. Also bring any information you have regarding other income, i.e. the amount of retirement, social security or severance pay you may be receiving.
Because unemployment insurance benefits may be taxable, individuals can elect to have federal income tax withheld from their gross unemployment insurance payments in the amount of 10 percent.
Your weekly benefit amount is determined by the total wages paid to you by each of your employers during your "base" period. Your base period consists of the first four of the last five quarters (three-month periods) where you earned wages, going back from the time of your initial claim for benefits. If you have a dependent child or a dependent unemployed spouse, you may also receive an allowance for one of them.
It usually takes three weeks from the date of your claim to recieve your benefit check, if you are eligible. Although you may receive your checks on the same day of the week, there is no scheduled day on which your check will arrive.
Eligible claimants may continue to receive unemployment insurance benefits until they return to work, or up to a maximum of 26 weeks, whichever comes first. For eligible claimants, checks are usually mailed every two weeks, following certification that you are still unemployed.
The Temporary Emergency Unemployment Compensation program (TEUC) was extended by federal law as of January 8, 2003. The extension is retroactive to December 28, 2002.
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Free Money to Pay for College
The Workforce Investment Act is a government-funded program with the goal of providing adults with the education, skills and training they need to get and retain jobs. The U.S. Department of Labor works with states to provide money for workers, so they can afford career training for jobs that are in demand in local markets.
Learn more about the benefits of the Workforce Invesment Act.
