State mismanagement let unemployment insurance fraud run rampant

In this Oct. 2015 photo, then-Rep. Frank Mautino , D-Spring Valley, speaks to lawmakers at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. Mautino, now the state's auditor general, issued a report on fraudulent unemployment claims during the pandemic.AP

Illinois borrowed $4.5 billion from the federal government to pay unemployment claims during the pandemic and every single dollar that was borrowed plus hundreds of millions more, $5.24 billion in total was stolen.Did you catch that? The Pritzker administration borrowed money that taxpayers were on the hook to pay back, only to hand it over to thieves because they didn't do their job and cross-check information. It's unbelievable and inexcusable. The fraud went on for three years and no one has been fired for letting it occur.A scathing report published last week by the Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino laid out the details about the stolen "overpayments" during the COVID-19 pandemic fiscal years of 2020-2022. These payments went to fraudsters, including $46 million to incarcerated criminals and deceased people.

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The report makes it clear that the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) was negligent and incompetent in performing its duties. The report states, "IDES did not comply with all state and federal statutory and administrative requirements for processing and auditing claims." It also says IDES did not implement recommended tools to prevent fraud for over a year and that important cross checks of information were completely ignored.Reports of stolen personal information related to fraudulent claims were given directly to IDES very early during the pandemic. IDES knew there was a problem. They even spent over $226 million on outside contractors to help process claims and they, too, failed to implement checks needed to reign in the fraud. Unbelievably, no one has been fired. Instead, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has shrugged his shoulders and gave the IDES director a new job as the head of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.The Pritzker administration finally paid back the money owed to the federal government earlier this year, but not before taxpayers also had to pay $70 million in interest on the borrowed funds again, for money that went entirely to fraudsters. To replenish the depleted unemployment insurance fund, employers will now be taxed more for many years.In a state that has world-class institutions and businesses that run sophisticated financial systems, this should have never happened. We need to demand better from our government. Every instance of fraud should be prosecuted, every overpayment clawed back, every contractor audited for performance and the leadership at IDES that failed to follow the rules should be fired.State Rep. Brad Halbrook, R-Shelbyville Mayor Johnson fumbles on 'mob action' stereotypeAs a former Chicago Public Schools teacher, I get why Mayor Brandon Johnson cautioned the media about stigmatizing students by their race or ethnicity by using the term "mob action." Yet to make his point, Johnson used the casual example of calling them "baby Al Capones." He thus stigmatized another ethnic group as being criminally inclined. To borrow from Shakespeare: A criminal by any other name is just a criminal. Johnson could just have easily said "Baby Ike Blooms," "Baby Mike McDonalds," "Baby Jeff Forts," "Baby Wilson Moys," or "Baby Jake Guziks," to name just a few of the multi-ethnic crime bosses from Chicago's past. Yet if he had done so, I would have been the first person to criticize him for indirectly pointing people toward the path of prejudice. Words matter, Mr. Mayor. And to see an intelligent and empathetic person like him not think twice about saying "baby Al Capones" proves what Italian American activists have said for decades: the public and media's anti-Italian animus of the late 19th century has become institutionalized.Slip-ups like Johnson's, however small, are a sad reminder of this. Bill Dal Cerro, Norwood ParkTake steps to save our warming planetSo, you are concerned about the climate crisis and are not sure what to do about it. Know that you are not alone. Also know that the climate movement needs you, it needs everyone, to do everything we can to address this crisis. Here are some ideas:Learn more about how our world is warming; the causes, consequences and actions that need to be taken to stop it. Start by visiting NASA's website on climate, at https://climate.nasa.govTalk about it, a lot, with friends, family, neighbors, everybody and anybody.Get involved; join a climate group or two. Ask how you can help. You undoubtedly have the skills they need. If you have money to donate, they could benefit from that too.Get political; take to the streets, contact elected officials, repeatedly, at all levels of government, and demand that they take action. They were elected to serve the people, and there is no higher service than protecting the world we live in.Walk the talk; take steps to reduce your emissions. It is very freeing. Pace yourself; we are in this for the long haul. Have hope."One of the beautiful things right now is that I can't tell you how to be a climate activist. That's up to you to figure out. But I can tell you that the movement needs you, and that you have a role in this that's important and uniquely your own." Peter Kalmus, climate scientistRon Sadler, Highland Park