The Illinois Department of Employment Security had a backlog of 156K calls in February. Now, over a year into the pandemic, its offices remain closed to the public and 43K Illinoisans are still awaiting a call from IDES.

States that have re-opened schools have also increased labor force participation of mothers, evidence suggests.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Illinois is close to starting the extra ‘bridge phase’ of mandates he added in March, but over a year into his COVID-19 restrictions it is another barricade to the state’s economy. States with fewer limits are seeing bigger declines in infections.