Thursday’s Auditor General compliance examination report covering the Illinois Department of Employment Security for two years ending June 30, 2023, echoes many of this column’s recurring themes.
The most basic: Read it for yourself. Open a browser, type in auditor.illinois.gov and get to work. Seeing the plain language firsthand is important legwork for those seeking education and influence.
Another tier: toothless punishments do more harm than good. The report’s synopsis says IDES didn’t fully employ with the Election Code or the Unemployment Insurance Act. A handy table shows 26 total shortcomings. In category two (significant internal control deficiencies and noncompliance with state laws and regulations), there were four new and 13 repeat findings. In the more severe category one, three new and three repeat findings.
Given 16 identified but uncured deficiencies, it’s unsurprising to see another six piled on top. The picture painted depicts an agency unable to fully meet its statutory purpose and unpersuaded by falling short. Yet calling it an “agency” is ironic because IDES as an institution can’t do anything. What the report truly impugns isn’t a what but a who — the people who lead and staff this government office.
That points to the third theme: the state gives itself power it cannot adequately wield. We see this repeatedly with lawsuits challenging any number of state initiatives, from the Firearm Owner Identification program to veterans homes or services for children and families and more. The macro effect is that every time a politician stands behind an official podium to proclaim some great new improvement effort, the enthusiasm is inherently dampened with the reality of life in Illinois: we’ll believe it when we see it.
Some of these failures are little more than paperwork. The Election Code requires IDES to establish and operate a voter registration system that can transmit data to the State Board of Elections portal. The two parties are supposed to be formalizing an “Electronic Registration Information Center Membership Agreement.” IDES didn’t have a space for voter registrants to enter email addresses.
Somewhere along the way a politician made a compelling argument for why IDES should have these tasks on its overfilled plate. I might even agree with that position. But anyone who celebrated putting those wheels in motion ought to be even more loudly demanding complete follow through. We vote for actions, not words.
The report has plenty of larger concerns, notably the inability to properly audit data on 2,828 unemployment claimants who collected $6,171,258 in federal COVID relief. But it altogether serves to remind we never quite get the government we’re promised.
Email your elected officials. Ask if they read this audit. Then push for their action steps. It won’t be your last opportunity.
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. Follow him on X @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
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