House Republican Leader Jim Durkin holds a remote video press conference to pressure @GovPritzker to improve the state’s unemployment website and benefit application process. Pritzker’s office releases a list of things they’ve done right as the press event starts.

“Today, we are demanding on behalf of Illinoisans, that this program of unemployment insurance be fixed immediately,” House GOP Leader Durkin says.

House Rep. Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville) says, “It’s time for @GovPritzker to step up and fix the problems with [IDES] and not just complain about things at the federal level. This is 100% under his control.”

Nearly 1 in 5 workers in Illinois are in the “gig economy.” Self-contractors were told they would qualify for unemployment benefits. Rep. Mike Marron says IDES still “has no timeline” for when those benefits can be accessed on the state website.

“This was an avoidable problem,” Rep. Durkin says. He says @GovPritzker should have anticipated a flood of unemployment claims when he used his pen to sign an executive order to halt non-essential business operations.

“We shut down private businesses in Illinois with an executive order a month and a half ago. It’s a very bold statement, and I don’t oppose it,” Durkin says. “I supported it.”

“But I would say that shifting and repurposing state employees from different agencies into IDES is a lot easier than shutting down private businesses,” Durkin says.

Durkin says Georgia and Michigan have already rolled out their unemployment benefits for workers in the gig economy.

Pritzker's press release promises that, "IDES will have this program fully implemented by the week of May 11." That's four weeks from today, and more than seven weeks since @GovPritzker signed his executive order to shutter non-essential businesses.