Yesterday, key Senate leaders -- including Sen. Dick Durbin -- endorsed bills working through Congress (H.R. 3404 and H.R. 3548 in the House and  S. 1647 in the Senate) that would extend unemployment benefits for folks struggling to find work. And Gov. Pat Quinn along with 21 other governors are urging Congress to enact that legislation quickly. The Tribune reports:

The Chicago Democrat is calling on lawmakers in Washington to extend unemployment for people whose benefits are about to run out.

Quinn and 21 other governors signed a letter sent to Congress. The letter says 400,000 people nationwide could exhaust their benefits by this month.

Amid the worst recession in decades, demand for unemployment insurance is sky-high. More troubling though, as this graph created by the Center for American Progress illustrates, is the staggering number of "long-term unemployed" Americans. Among them are an estimated five million people who have been searching for work for more than six months:

Demand is also draining the state's unemployment benefits fund. At the start of the year, Illinois held $1.45 billion in available resources. As of August 31, ProPublica found that the state's trust fund balance had dwindled to $21 million, even after borrowing more than $300 million. (That figure does not include a $200 million windfall from the federal stimulus program that was approved earlier this month.)

According to Quinn's office, 13,000 families in Illinois have already exhausted their benefits and 40,000 more will by the end of the year without Congressional relief. The National Employment Law Project's estimates (PDF) are even higher. And until firms start hiring again, more and more people will see their financial options shrink.