How to File an Unemployment Claim in Illinois
If you have lost your job in Illinois, file an unemployment claim to maintain some income while you look for another job. You will likely qualify for benefits if you have worked steadily for a year or two and you lost your job through no fault of your own. You may also qualify if you were fired for causes that do not amount to misconduct, or if you quit your job because your work conditions changed, or to avoid a hostile or unsafe work environment.
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Instructions
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1
Gather the following before you file for unemployment:
A. Your Social Security number
B. Your Illinois mailing address and residence address
C. Telephone number where you can be contacted between 8a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday (no pagers)
D. If you are not a U.S. citizen, you will need your Alien Registration card number
E. The names and addresses and reason for leaving employment of all employers where you have worked in the past couple of years. If you worked in another state during this time, include these as well.
F. If you had federal employment within the last 18 months you will need copies of forms SF8 and SF50.
G. Information (name, Social Security number, and date of birth) about your children, step-children, adopted children, or any child you have court order legal custody
H. Name and Social Security number of your spouse
H. If you were in the military in the previous 18 months have a copy of your most recent separation form DD 214.
I. Any labor union name you currently have good standing with -
2
Make sure your computer system has the following minimum components. You will need to have:
Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher with cookies enabled
Windows XP, Windows 2000 or Windows Millennium Edition
Adobe Reader
Firefox, Opera, and Mac web browsers will not work with the unemployment filing system.
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3
Go to the Illinois Department of Employment Security website through the link in the Resources section. Click on the "Apply Online Now" button.
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4
Fill out each section of the forms truthfully and to the best of your knowledge using the information you collected in Step 1. Click the "CONTINUE" button on the bottom of each screen to navigate through the claim application forms. You can go back to a previous screen by using the navigation bar on the left. If you need to correct anything go back and do so then continue on. It will take about 30 minutes to complete the application if you have the information needed.
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5
When you get to the end of the forms, click the "File My Claim" button to send your unemployment claim to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
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Approximately two weeks after you have filed your unemployment claim it is critical that you certify for benefits. Call 1-888-337-7234 (Tele-Serve) to certify or use the Illinois Department of Employment Security website.
In about two two weeks you will receive a finding in the mail that will inform you of the date you should certify. If you do not receive this letter two weeks from the date you filed your unemployment claim then contact the Illinois Department of Employment Security at 1-888-367-4382 (toll-free).
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