At a time when employers are slashing payrolls nationwide, President Obama made a prudent decision and devoted over $1 billion in his stimulus bill to extend unemployment insurance for those struggling to find work in this dire economy. Specifically, the recovery package temporarily shifted (PDF) the full costs of the Unemployment Extended Benefits (EB) program onto the federal government's books and loosened federal eligibility rules. That means more laid-off workers can access more funds after their 33 weeks of Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) runs out, all without cash-strapped state governments bearing the cost.

Earlier this month, Illinois qualified for extended benefits under the EB program and should be in line for even more.  Here is what unemployed workers in Illinois need to know:

There are two ways to qualify for EB. The first is called the Insured Unemployment Rate Trigger (IUR). The IUR is determined by taking the number of workers receiving unemployment benefits in a given state over the past 13 weeks and dividing it by the total number of employed workers. If that rate exceeds 5 percent and is 20 percent higher than it was during the same period in both of the previous two years, the state automatically triggers the EB program.

Illinois's current IUR is 5.13 percent. As a result, we triggered on to the EB on April 5, meaning unemployed workers now have 13 more weeks of benefits.

The second trigger is the more generous Optional Total Unemployment Rate Trigger (TUR). If a state's standard unemployment rate exceeds 6.5 percent over a three-month period and has grown 10 percent over the past two years, workers are entitled to an extra 13 weeks of EB. But if a state exceeds 8.0 percent unemployment for three consecutive months, a total of 20 weeks of extended benefits are available. To obtain these resources, however, states are required to pass legislation adopting the option.

So having triggered the EB under IUR, can Illinois also qualify for additional benefits under TUR? 

Indeed we can.  Illinois' three-month unemployment rate currently sits at 7.9 percent. Given that the February unemployment rate jumped almost a full percentage point to 8.6 percent, it's almost assured that our three-month figure will climb above 8 percent when the March statewide figures are released on Thursday. If and when the General Assembly passes companion legislation enacting the more generous benefits, seven additional weeks will be added on, bringing Illinois' total EB to 20 weeks.

This distinction could be important down the road. According to estimates from the National Law Employment Project, 102,495 Illinoisans will exhaust their unemployment compensation between March and December of this year, while an additional 170,967 workers will enter the system for the first time. For some, those seven additional weeks will be enormously helpful.

Thankfully, NELP'S Rick McHugh tells us that the officials from AFL-CIO, the business community, and Illinois legislature are currently negotiating the specifics of a bill to trigger the TUR benefits. We'll keep you updated on any developments.

UPDATE (6/29): Both legislative chambers passed Senate Bill 1350 last month, which modifies state law to trigger an additional 7 weeks of extended benefits (on top of the 13 already triggered in April). On June 26, it was sent to Gov. Pat Quinn's desk. He has 60 days to sign it into law. 

UPDATE (8/26): We've created an open thread for readers to learn about the unemployment insurance process and discuss any questions or advice they have. Follow the link here.