Bill Text: IL HR0860 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Directs the Auditor General to conduct an audit of the Illinois Department of Employment Security and the unemployment benefits application system.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 20-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-01-08 - Referred to Rules Committee [HR0860 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HR0860-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, On May 15, 2020, several members of the General
Assembly received panicked phone calls and emails concerning
private personal identification information, such as social
security numbers, addresses, and birth dates, being published
publicly on the Illinois Department of Employment Security's
(IDES) website; and
WHEREAS, The private information being published by IDES
pertained to tens of thousands of individuals who had applied
for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits as a result
of the government shut down of businesses in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, Governor Pritzker and IDES entered into two no-bid
contracts with private sector companies totaling $22 million of
taxpayer money to help assist in upgrading IDES's antiquated
website and claims systems; and
WHEREAS, Prior to May 11, 2020, the day the new IDES became
operational, the general public and members of the General
Assembly were assured that upon completion of the upgrades to
the system then IDES would be able to handle the large number
of applications more efficiently, and the application process
for unemployment benefits would be easier and more secure; and

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WHEREAS, Since the beginning of the government shut down of
businesses on March 16, 2020, a record number of over one
million Illinoisans have filed for unemployment benefits, with
many having to repeatedly call IDES while waiting for weeks
without income; and
WHEREAS, Upon learning about the publication of the private
personal information on IDES's website, Representative Terri
Bryant immediately notified members of the Governor's staff and
the IDES staff and asked them to resolve the data breach; and
WHEREAS, The day following the data breach, having not
received sufficient answers as to how the breach happened and
who was affected, Representative Terri Bryant submitted a
letter to the Governor's office requesting those answers; and
WHEREAS, On May 21, 2020, five days after the request for
answers from the Governor's office and still not having
received an adequate response, a subsequent letter was sent
from several members of the House Republican Caucus asking that
the Governor respond; and
WHEREAS, Every day that goes by without knowing whose
information was published, how long the information was
available, and who was able to access the information leaves

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thousands of Illinoisans, who are already suffering from job
loss, vulnerable to identity theft; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
the Auditor General is directed to conduct an audit of the
Illinois Department of Employment Security and the
unemployment benefits application system; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the audit include, but not be limited to,
the following determinations:
(1) For what period of time the personal information of
unemployment applicants was available for access by other
applicants and the public;
(2) Whether or not the data breach has been fully
resolved;
(3) The possibility of another data breach;
(4) The number of applicants whose information was
published;
(5) The vulnerability to identity theft or other
security issues of those whose information was published;
(6) Any other vulnerabilities regarding the
information of the millions of Illinoisans who have applied
for unemployment benefits; and
(7) A review of the contracts awarded to Deloitte
Consulting for assisting IDES in the upgrading of its IT

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services; and be it further
RESOLVED, That IDES and any other State agency or entity
having information relevant to the audit shall cooperate fully
and promptly in the conduct of the audit; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Auditor General shall commence this
audit as soon as possible and report his findings and
recommendations upon completion to the Governor and each of the
four leaders of the General Assembly; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Legislative Audit Commission is urged to
review the findings of this audit in a public meeting, and the
General Assembly is urged to take any actions that it deems
necessary or desirable to implement the recommendations made by
the audit and to remedy any problems or dysfunctions uncovered
by the audit; and be it further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
delivered to Governor JB Pritzker, Department of Employment
Security Acting Director Thomas Chan, Auditor General Frank J.
Mautino, and Legislative Audit Commission Executive Director
Jane Stricklin.