Pritzker administration failed to report unemployment fraud data
A U.S. Department of Labor report stated Illinois failed to report theft of pandemic relief money as required. Illinois lost over half of pandemic unemployment funds to fraud.
Audit reveals Illinois lost nearly $2 billion to COVID-19 unemployment fraud
A state audit found the Illinois Department of Employment Security lost to fraud more than half of the $3.6 billion in federal COVID-19 dollars earmarked for out-of-work Illinoisans. The full scope of the unemployment fraud remains unknown.
IDES report detailing scope of Illinois unemployment fraud remains unpublished one year later
Nearly a year after Illinois lawmakers requested a comprehensive audit of state unemployment fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic, IDES, the state agency in charge of issuing assistance, remains unable to tabulate how much money was lost to scammers.
State unemployment fraud could cost Illinoisans more than $1 billion
A recent report from the Illinois Department of Employment Security revealed the state lost at least $14.8 million to fraudsters during the pandemic. But experts warn the full extent of state fraud could be closer to $1 billion.
Feds charge former Chicago principal with taking $200,000 in school overtime scheme
A former Chicago Public Schools principal convinced her employees to falsely charge for overtime and give her the money, claiming it would go for school expenses. Charges state she instead paid her mortgage.
Chinatown developer who recorded Madigan, Solis charged with fraud
The developer’s recordings helped federal investigators charge Chicago Ald. Ed Burke and deepened the investigation into Illinois state corruption.
‘Fair tax’ backer pleads guilty to tax fraud
Former state Sen. Martin Sandoval once headed the powerful Senate Transportation Committee. He now faces up to 13 years in prison on corruption charges involving a controversial red-light camera company.
Feds indict champion of Illinois gas tax hike, ‘fair tax’ on tax fraud and bribery
The former chair of the influential Senate Transportation Committee is the fourth Illinois politician indicted on federal charges amid a sweeping FBI probe.
Illinois pays millions in pension benefits to the dead
More than 1,000 dead Illinoisans received pension payments from 2010 to 2014, according to government records.
Unions block Medicaid scrub that could’ve saved state $350M a year
It wouldn’t be entirely fair to say that government unions exist solely to make government less effective and more expensive, but sometimes that’s just exactly what they do. One blatant example came a few weeks ago, when American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 31 pushed the state into abandoning its contract with...
