Using the Illinois Policy Institutes transparency website, IllinoisOpenGov.org, I found that in 2008 and 2009 (up until the time of our FOIA requests), the state gave the Illinois chapter of the AFL-CIO $1,320,000.00 in the form of grants. After giving the AFL-CIO $730,000.00 in 2008, the state gave the AFL-CIO $590,000.00 in 2009. The Department of Commerce awarded all of these grants and labeled them as grants for cash requests. These cash requests were made between 10/27/2008 and 3/13/2009 in less than five months.
The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations is composed of 57 unions and is the largest federation of unions in the United States. The Illinois AFL-CIO represents union workers here in Illinois and its website states it will continue its political work with the goal of making sweeping changes.
The Department of Commerce works with the Illinois AFL-CIO to run a Peer Counselor Program, which provides unemployed workers with a peer to assist them in choosing from available unemployment programs.
Unemployed workers are often in a state of emotional upheaval, and contact with someone familiar, such as a respected coworker or former coworker, can be reassuring. Apprehension over choosing from available services, filling out forms, taking assessment and placement tests, and meeting time deadlines can be minimized by providing dislocated workers with one of their peers to assist them in accessing available programs.
In sum, this is a government-funded program that provides unemployed workers with advisers to help them choose among government-funded programs.
You can find this information for yourself by going to IllinoisOpenGov.org, clicking on the Checks to Businesses & People section and searching for Illinois AFL-CIO in the vendor section.