IDES Offices Closed in Honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

CHICAGO - Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) offices will close Monday, Jan. 21, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Regular office hours of 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. will resume Tuesday.

Dr. King was born Jan. 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Ga. The civil rights leader was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. on April 4, 1968. Four days later, legislation was introduced in Congress to make his birthday a national holiday, but was not enacted into law until 1983. Ten years earlier, in 1973, Illinois was among the first states in the Union to honor King with a state holiday.

Although IDES offices will close, services will be available at www.ides.illinois.gov. Individuals can file for first-time unemployment benefits, certify for benefits which is necessary to receive payment, and switch that method of payment to direct deposit. Because Jan. 21 is a federal banking holiday, the availability of some benefit payments might be delayed. The IDES does not determine federal banking holidays.

IDES customers also can use the website to manage their benefit payments. For benefit payments, the Department encourages direct deposit. Direct deposit is a simple, smart and secure way to receive benefits. Debit cards also are available. There are no fees associated with a debit card at point-of-service counters that accept MasterCard, such as grocery stores, drug stores and convenience stores. Cash is available after qualifying purchases. Fees likely will be assessed with out-of-network ATM machines.

Illinois added +174,600 private sector jobs since January 2010 when job growth returned to Illinois following nearly two years of consecutive monthly losses. Leading growth sectors are Professional and Business Services (+84,800); Manufacturing (+45,100); and Education and Health Services (+42,000). Government has lost the most jobs since January 2010, down -28,800.

Illinoisjoblink.com is the revamped IDES employment website that links job seekers with ready-to-hire employers. This no-cost, on-line career resource allows individuals to create multiple resumes that emphasize different talents and allows businesses to search for specific skills. The keyword matching technology increases the likelihood of a successful new hire. Illinois JobLink emphasizes Illinois jobs, scrapes other commercial job boards, and compares favorably to private efforts that cost hundreds of dollars for a single advertisement.  Business leaders can access IDES’ no-cost HR recruitment services by calling (877) 342-7533.