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Key Facts
- Federal and Illinois state: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance was a temporary federal program administered in Illinois; it ended September 4, 2021.
- Illinois state level: The end of PUA did not end Illinois’s regular unemployment insurance program.
- Illinois state level: Regular eligibility requires insured wages and continuing conditions, including ability, availability, and active work search.
- Illinois state level: Regular claimants generally certify every two weeks through IDES online services or Tele-Serve.
“PUA unemployment Illinois” refers to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a temporary federal pandemic program that Illinois administered through the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). PUA is not the current name for ordinary state unemployment insurance.
Illinois PUA ended in 2021
PUA expanded unemployment coverage to some people who were not traditionally eligible for regular benefits, including many self-employed workers. IDES announced that PUA and several related federal pandemic programs ended on September 4, 2021.
The expiration did not terminate Illinois’s regular UI program. A past PUA claim may still generate historical records or correspondence, but PUA is not an open alternative program for a new 2026 period of unemployment.
Regular Illinois unemployment uses separate rules
IDES states that regular eligibility generally requires unemployment through no fault of the worker, insured base-period wages, and registration for work. For claimed weeks, the worker must also be able and available for work and actively seeking work.
The UI Finding states base-period wages, the weekly benefit amount, and the assigned certification day. Monetary eligibility alone does not guarantee payment because separation and weekly issues can still require adjudication.
Filing and certification are different steps
The initial application opens the claim and determines whether reported wages can establish a benefit amount. IDES directs online applicants into its current benefits account system.
Certification occurs every two weeks after filing. It confirms unemployment, ability and availability, work search, and earnings for the two weeks covered.
A waiting week and ongoing reporting can affect payment
Illinois requires one unpaid waiting week that otherwise meets eligibility conditions. Gross wages are reported for the week in which they are earned, not the later week in which they are paid.
IDES says claimants should continue certifying while an adjudication or appeal is pending. Certification preserves the weekly record but does not predetermine the disputed eligibility question.
Current law and archived PUA material serve different purposes
Archived IDES PUA notices establish what the temporary program covered and when it ended. Current IDES handbook and certification pages govern the ordinary Illinois UI process described for 2026.
