An Illinois Department of Employment Security office on Lawrence Avenue in Chicago. (WTTW News)

Illinois’ unemployment rate is now 16.4%, officials announced Thursday, setting a modern-day record that spotlights the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker called number of Illinois residents out of work a “tragedy” and said his administration was focused on safely restarting the state’s economy without causing infections to soar while shoring up the state’s unemployment insurance system.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security said it processed more than 1.2 million claims for unemployment benefits since March 1, 12 times the load the agency handled during the same period in 2019.

That includes 74,515 unemployment claims for independent contractors, who were allowed to file for unemployment insurance for the first time last week under a change to federal law prompted by the pandemic. 

Pritzker said he was especially concerned that some small businesses would not be able to reopen.

“This is a tragedy that requires us to really put shoulder to the wheel to make sure that not only the federal dollars” but also state funds are used to help those out of work, Pritzker said.

Pritzker said his administration was working to correct problems with the phone and online unemployment insurance systems, and praised employees working to help those filing for benefits.

That has been more difficult since the state’s unemployment system was “woefully” hollowed out and underfunded for years under previous governors, Pritzker said.

“We have to take care of people in our state,” Pritzker said. “They need us in this exact moment; this is what government is for.”

Public health officials announced 2,268 new cases of the coronavirus and 87 deaths in the 24 hours between Wednesday and Thursday. In all, 102,686 cases of the coronavirus have been diagnosed in Illinois, and 4,607 Illinois residents have died.

The state recorded 29,307 test results during the same 24 hour period, marking a record high. Pritzker has said the state needs to test as many residents as possible to stop the spread of the virus.

State data shows that 3,914 people are hospitalized with the virus, including 1,005 patients in intensive care units. Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said that is “the lowest number since we were capturing these numbers,” additional evidence that Illinois may have passed the peak of the pandemic.

All four regions of Illinois are set to advance to the third phase of Pritzker’s plan when his stay-at-home order expires May 29, according to state data.

That will allow “nonessential” retail businesses to reopen with health precautions in place and allow restaurants to serve diners at outside tables. However, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday restaurants in the city would not reopen to diners on May 29.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]