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Chicago man says after finally getting ahold of Illinois employment worker, he was hung up on
Another 2.4-million Americans have applied for unemployment, but frustrations are growing with the way Illinois is handling it.
CHICAGO - Another 2.4-million Americans have applied for unemployment, but frustrations are growing with the way Illinois is handling it.
That includes a Chicago father who says he finally got ahold of someone, only to be hung up on by the worker.
In Illinois, the unemployment rate is now at a record 16.4-percent.
“I called about 90 times on Monday,” said Chris Casiano. “Then I called about 30 times before I got ahold of someone on Tuesday.”
Casiano is a husband and father to two girls. The past two months have been a challenge.
“It's been a nightmare to try, and basically just be able to do my, my given right which is just to file for unemployment,” he said.
He quit his pest control job in order to take care of his two girls while his wife works from home. Because he quit his job, he knew he was not eligible for the state’s unemployment benefits. But in order to apply for PUA or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, you have to first be denied regular benefits.
“There was a conflict with me first registering for the regular benefits,” Casiano said.
He tried calling more than 100 times and finally got a human to answer.
“She said ‘no you can't file.’ I said, ‘Ma’am, you can't tell me that I can't file.’ I'm like, ‘all I'm asking is for you to help me finish filing for the PA, and that's it.’ When I got frustrated, I finally asked for her name and then she simply hung up,” Casiano said.
Governor JB Prtizker is encouraging residents to keep trying.
“There's no doubt that mistakes get made. Somebody gets cut off the phone line, it's not because there's somebody on the other end who's saying I don't really want to do that work and hitting a button. That's not what's happening,” the governor said Thursday.
“It's more than just customer service. It's a really dire situation for people,” Casiano said.
He says he is still calling 20 to 30 times a day hoping to find someone to just help him file for the federal help.