Those needing to speak in person with someone at the state’s unemployment offices haven’t been able to for well over a year and it’s still not clear when the offices will be open.

Offices around the state for the Illinois Department of Employment Security have been closed since the spring of 2020. For months while unemployment claims spiked because of the governor’s COVID-19 restrictions closing businesses, backlogs grew and phone lines were flooded.

IDES officials have said there are health and physical safety

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