Dan Yost | Contributed photo
Dan Yost | Contributed photo
Republican state House candidate Dan Yost has thrown his support behind a call by a group of Republican lawmakers for a state audit of the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES).
“I support Rep. Terri Bryant for Illinois’ call to audit this government agency,” said Yost, an Antioch trustee who is running against incumbent state Rep. Joyce Mason (D-Gurnee) in the 61st District. “The agency is responsible for exposing the private data of thousands of citizens and has still yet to provide any answers to reassure the public.”
The push for an audit comes after IDES suffered a massive data breach and has consistently failed to measure up in handling the flood of unemployment claims in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Let’s hold the politicians accountable and get to the bottom of this,” Yost added.
The information of at least 32,000 claimants was made public and Bryant said she doesn’t think Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office is doing nearly enough in dealing with what should be a pressing issue.
“I have been very disappointed with the attitude the governor has had during his daily press briefings on the breach and the failures at IDES overall,” she told Capitol News Illinois, adding that she sees the system as being flawed from the very beginning. “To hear it from the governor, you’d think everything’s OK, everything’s working just fine.”
Along with fellow GOP Reps. Mike Marron of Fithian, Charlie Meier of Okawville and Brad Stephens of Rosemont, Bryant said she plans to file a resolution that will demand Auditor General Frank Mautino complete a full investigation of IDES.
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