With the rise of the Coronavirus, many people lost their jobs due to the closure of the State. As a result, many people were seeking financial assistance through unemployment benefits. At the beginning of March, I lost my job. I was a gig worker for Doordash. With the help of the CARES Act, I was able to receive a stimulus check that allowed me to pay bills and buy food up until the end of April. By mid-May, I decided to apply for unemployment benefits. I filled out the necessary information in the application, and I waited. And waited. Over the course of a month, I have called IDES over a hundred times. No one ever answered, and sometimes the phone would hang up on me. I've also sent several emails.

After doing a little bit of investigating, I found out that representative Terri Bryant along with several other House of Representative members wanted to audit IDES. Around mid-May, there had been a breach in the IDES website. Over 30,000 Social Security numbers and other secure information of those who applied for PUA, or pandemic unemployment assistance program, had been leaked. Governor Pritzker had been informed of the issue by Ms. Bryant, and he avoided talking with her about the breach. He had the responsibility to prepare IDES for the influx of unemployment benefit requests; however, I believe he has failed. He has not cooperated with the House of Representatives to enact an audit that would ensure security of the information of the applicants, as well as fixing the delay in unemployment benefit requests. Terri Bryant is trying to work with the Illinois Auditor General to fix this issue as soon as possible; however there could be a delay up until November because Governor Pritzker does not want to cooperate. I say Governor Pritzker works with the House of Representatives to audit IDES now, or he resigns immediately. Remember this during the November elections; he has failed Illinois residents miserably. Please sign this petition to fix these issues, and help people survive during this difficult time. 

Update: I am working with WGNtv to set up an interview to spread my message. I have also contacted all 18 House of Representatives and both Senators to help Terri Bryant with this audit. Thank you all for your support!