Unemployment benefits extended through April 5

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Long-term unemployed workers who were facing the end of their benefits got a reprieve Tuesday when Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed into law a one-month extension of the existing programs.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security said that without the action, up to 15,000 Illinois workers each week would have exhausted their unemployment benefits starting Feb. 27. The extension runs through April 5.

While unemployment is high across the country, figures are worse in Illinois and in Bureau County. In December 2009, the national unemployment rate was 10 percent, while Illinois ran one point higher at 11 percent. For Bureau County, the rate was 13.7 percent, significantly higher than December 2008, when the rate was 8.2 percent.

The extension will be welcome news to many unemployed Illinois workers, said Candyce Wolsfeld, executive director of Project Success of Eastern Bureau County, which operates the Hall Township Food Pantry.

Wolsfeld said she was extremely surprised recently to see the food pantry served 764
individuals in February.

“That’s extremely high for a non-holiday month,” she said. “There were only 28 days in February, and there were some cold and snowy days we weren’t open.”

Wolsfeld said the number of unemployed people coming to the food pantry for assistance is increasing, in part due to more layoffs by area businesses. For example, Honeywell Sensing and Controls Business, better known to local residents as Hobbs, laid off more of its employees in December as part of its announced closing, with more layoffs to come.

In addition to more people unemployed, Wolsfeld said more employed people are now making minimum wage at the jobs they are able to find.

Because of all this, Wolsfeld said more people are coming in looking for some extra help, whether it’s a few bags of groceries or rental assistance.

Unemployed workers need do nothing to collect the additional month of benefits. Should there be a question about a customer’s eligibility to graduate to the next tier of benefits, the Illinois Department of Employment Security will contact those customers directly.

Unemployment insurance is a federal/state program. Since 2008, Congress temporarily authorized additional unemployment assistance to support the unemployed as well as the communities in which they reside.

Contributions by Illinois businesses are set by state law and fund the first 26 weeks of unemployment insurance. Nearly $3 billion in federal funds have been used to pay benefits past the initial 26 weeks.

Benefit amounts are set by state law. The average weekly Illinois benefit payment is about $315. The maximum weekly amount is $534.

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