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SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, On May 15, 2020, several members of the General
3Assembly received panicked phone calls and emails concerning
4private personal identification information, such as social
5security numbers, addresses, and birth dates, being published
6publicly on the Illinois Department of Employment Security's
7(IDES) website; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The private information being published by IDES
9pertained to tens of thousands of individuals who had applied
10for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits as a
11result of the government shut down of businesses in response
12to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Governor Pritzker and IDES entered into two
14no-bid contracts with private sector companies totaling $22
15million of taxpayer money to help assist in upgrading IDES's
16antiquated website and claims systems; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Prior to May 11, 2020, the day the new IDES became
18operational, the general public and members of the General
19Assembly were assured that upon completion of the upgrades to
20the system then IDES would be able to handle the large number
21of applications more efficiently, and the application process
22for unemployment benefits would be easier and more secure; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Since the beginning of the government shut down
2of businesses on March 16, 2020, a record number of over one
3million Illinoisans have filed for unemployment benefits, with
4many having to repeatedly call IDES while waiting for weeks
5without income; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Upon learning about the publication of the
7private personal information on IDES's website,
8then-Representative Terri Bryant immediately notified members
9of the Governor's staff and the IDES staff and asked them to
10resolve the data breach; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The day following the data breach, having not
12received sufficient answers as to how the breach happened and
13who was affected, then-Representative Terri Bryant submitted a
14letter to the Governor's office requesting those answers; and
 
15    WHEREAS, On May 21, 2020, five days after the request for
16answers from the Governor's office and still not having
17received an adequate response, a subsequent letter was sent
18from several members of the House Republican Caucus asking
19that the Governor respond; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Every day that goes by without knowing whose
21information was published, how long the information was

 

 

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1available, and who was able to access the information leaves
2thousands of Illinoisans, who are already suffering from job
3loss, vulnerable to identity theft; therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
5ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Auditor General is
6directed to conduct an audit of the Illinois Department of
7Employment Security and the unemployment benefits application
8system; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That the audit include, but not be limited to,
10the following determinations:
11        (1) For what period of time the personal information
12    of unemployment applicants was available for access by
13    other applicants and the public;
14        (2) Whether or not the data breach has been fully
15    resolved;
16        (3) The possibility of another data breach;
17        (4) The number of applicants whose information was
18    published;
19        (5) The vulnerability to identity theft or other
20    security issues of those whose information was published;
21        (6) Any other vulnerabilities regarding the
22    information of the millions of Illinoisans who have
23    applied for unemployment benefits; and
24        (7) A review of the contracts awarded to Deloitte

 

 

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1    Consulting for assisting IDES in the upgrading of its IT
2    services; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That IDES and any other State agency or entity
4having information relevant to the audit shall cooperate fully
5and promptly in the conduct of the audit; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this audit as
7soon as possible and report his findings and recommendations
8upon completion in accordance with the provisions of Section
93-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act; and be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That the Legislative Audit Commission is urged
11to review the findings of this audit in a public meeting, and
12the General Assembly is urged to take any actions that it deems
13necessary or desirable to implement the recommendations made
14by the audit and to remedy any problems or dysfunctions
15uncovered by the audit; and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
17delivered to Governor JB Pritzker, Department of Employment
18Security Acting Director Kristin Richards, Auditor General
19Frank J. Mautino, and Legislative Audit Commission Executive
20Director Jane Stricklin.