$46K for Tele-Serve Brochures

The Department of Employment Security spent over $46K on brochures for Tele-Serve, the telephone hot-line that assists individuals applying for unemployment benefits.

by Amanda Griffin-Johnson

Using our transparency site, IllinoisOpenGov.org, I found that in 2008, the Department of Employment Security spent $46,401.16 on brochures for Tele-Serve. The most recent Tele-Serve brochure is available online in English and Spanish. According to the online brochure, Tele-Serve is the “telephone express line” that allows individuals filing for unemployment insurance to “’certify’ to [their] eligibility for benefits,” “reopen a claim for unemployment insurance,” “check the status of [their] unemployment claim,” “request federal income tax form 1099G,” and “obtain other IDES information” by telephone.

The payments were made to Illinois Graphics Inc of Bloomington, Illinois. According to their website, they are “an award winning commercial printer serving local, regional and national markets,” and they “specialize in hard to print communication pieces.”

To find this data on the IllinoisOpenGov site, go to “Checks to Businesses & People” and scroll down “Category of Spending” to “Sn 4312 Tele-Serve Brochure –.”