Meet the problem solver charged with fixing our unemployment system
In his remarks at the close of the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly in lateMay, state Senate President DonHarmon singled out his chief of staff, Kristin Richards, for praise.
Richards had overseen the complicated logistics of convening the Senate during the COVID-19 pandemic— the special security and health-screening measures, the spacing of the desks, the food service, the viewing accommodations for members of the public and so on.
“There is no one better than Kristin in taking a crisis and making it seem like just another session day,” Harmon said. We’ll see about that.
A little more than amonth later, Gov. J.B. Pritzker tapped Richards to take over the Illinois Department of Employment Security— the unexpectedly swamped state agency tasked with providing financial assistance to those who are out of work.
IDES had been quietly shrinking over the past decade— from2,000 employees in fiscal year 2011 to a little more than 1,000 employees in the current fiscal year— as unemployment rates gradually fell.
In the first two months of 2020, the agency processed 95,049 new unemployment claims, fairly average for January and February in recent years. Then the novel coronavirus hit, businesses began cutting back hours, suspending operations or closing altogether, and the next two months saw952,504 new unemployment claims, a tenfold increase.
In itsworstweek, the agency logged 1.8million calls to the 100 operatorswhowere then staffing its help lines. Nearly all of those callswere fromfrustrated applicants dialing over and over and over, working theirway through the options menu and then being hung up on after hearing the message to try back later.
OnMay 26, Republican state Rep. Allen Skillicorn of East Dundee, announced an effort to recall Pritzker based on how dreadfully IDES had responded to the crisis. In late June, 57 House Democrats signed a letter complaining that theywere besieged with complaints from constituents “unable to complete the filing of their claims, process their applications and often, even make contact with someone from(IDES) despite days andweeks of trying.”
It looked like a job for Richards, one of those behind-the-scenes people in Springfield whose name seldom appears in the media but who is well-known to capitol insiders. A native of Belleville, Richardswas a political science major at MillikinUniversity in Decatur who went right into government service after graduation, first in a fellowship program, then as a policy adviser and deputy chief of staff under Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Senate President John Cullerton named her his policy and budget director in 2009 and his chief of staff in 2016. Harmon kept her on after taking over the senate in January.
Colleagues admire her: “When theworld seems to be falling apart all around you— and in legislative politics that’s a daily occurrence— Kristin’s the person that people turn to for help,” said John Patterson, longtime spokesman for Cullerton and nowHarmon. “She does thework, she solves the problems and she moves everyone toward a practical resolution.”
Political foes have kindwords: “She’s smart and competent and professional,” said former state
Sen. Christine Radogno of Lemont, who led the Republican caucus until her resignation in 2017. “She comes off as a little reserved, but really she’s delightful, friendly and fun. She’s just what the department needs right now.”
Even journalists who’ve covered her are enthusiastic. “Richards is super-smart and knows government back and forth,” wrote Capitol Fax blogger and veteran statehouse reporter Rich Miller after Richardswas named to head IDES on July 9. “Yeah, she can be tough when times demand it, but she is also a naturally empathetic person. … The state needs a no-nonsense technocrat aswell as a human touch in that position.”
Richards said she didn’t hesitate when asked to, in effect, grab the helm of the Titanic after it had already struck the iceberg. “I’m sensitive to what it must feel like to have to navigate access to these sorts of services when you’re totally stressed out due to job loss or loss of income,” she said. “I felt a real responsibility to try to make that easier.”
One of her main goals, she said, was to improve how the agency communicates— simplifying the jargon on itswebsite and in written communications, reminding claimants by email when it’s time for them to check back in with IDES about theirwork status and generating infographics to help explain the application process. She said shewants to prevent online applicants fromreceiving infuriatingly opaque error messages that block their progress and direct them to call the dreaded help line.
A new return-call system, implemented just before Richards took over, nowputs those with problems and questions into various queues depending on the complexity of their issue, Richards said. The agency nowhas 550 call-center employees and gets back to stymied claimants in seven to 15 days, Richards said, though inmy recent experience filing a furlough claim, the call back didn’t come for fourweeks.
The situation is still bad. “Fury and Frustration: DealingWith Illinois’ Department of Employment Security Amid COVID-19 Pandemic” was the headline on a Sept. 29 report fromNBC-5. “Illinois’UnemployedWant Answers FromIDES: ‘I Can’t ImagineHowMuchWorse ThingsHave To Get,’ ” bannered CBS-2 on Oct. 1.
But there are signs it’s getting better. I spoke Friday toNorthwest Side Democratic stateRep. Lindsey LaPointe, who has appeared in news stories about how constituents have flooded lawmakers with requests for intervention after not getting satisfaction fromIDES.
“We’ve seen significant improvement lately,” LaPointe said. She said her chief of staff found the same trend when she reached out to more than half a dozen staffers in other state legislative offices. “We still have cases coming in the door, but it’s much fewer.”
For now. The most recent IDES report showed a 37% weekto-week jump in first-time unemployment claims for theweek ending Oct. 10, and with the virus in apparent resurgence, the system under Richardsmay be in for yet another unprecedented test as fall turns into winter.
But with luck, wewon’t again see her name in the media for a long time.
Re: Tweets
The winner of thisweek’s reader poll to select the funniest tweetwas “Whole Foods announced therewas Prius with its lights on in the parking lot, and nowI have the store all tomyself,” by @sixfootcandy.
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