News Local/State

Mayor: Danville Needs Unemployment Service Workers

By Sean Powers, with additional reporting from The Associated Press
 

Danville’s mayor says he worries a plan to re-locate several unemployment service workers from Danville to Champaign will come on the backs of residents in his city seeking assistance.

This is the latest cost-saving effort by the Illinois Department of Employment Security to merge unemployment services in the state. Mayor Scott Eisenhauer said he understands the need to consolidate service, but in a letter to Gov. Pat Quinn, emphasized his concerns about what that could mean for Danville.

 “Yes, consolidate the services,” Eisenhauer told Illinois Public Media. “I absolutely agree that those services should be consolidated just as they’re doing all over the state. All I’m saying is consolidate those offices in an area that’s experiencing double digit unemployment.”

The Danville staff will go from 11 workers to two, but there won’t be any layoffs The Illinois Department of Employment Security is encouraging people who are out of work to apply for unemployment assistance on the agency's website or by calling a toll-free number.