IL Extended Federal Unemployment Insurance Ending

WKMS | By The Associated Press,

Whitney Jones

Published December 7, 2012 at 8:20 AM CST

The Illinois Department of Employment Security says a federal program that provided unemployment insurance beyond the state's initial 25-week coverage expires Dec. 29. Congress extended the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program earlier this year, but the extension included a provision to end the program later this month. It has provided long-term unemployed people with benefits for 20 weeks beyond the state program financed by Illinois businesses.The program had been in effect under both President Barack Obama and President George Bush in response to high unemployment driven by the recent economic slowdown.

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Whitney Jones

Whitney grew up listening to Car Talk to and from her family’s beach vacation each year, but it wasn’t until a friend introduced her to This American Life that radio really grabbed her attention. She is a recent graduate from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., where she studied journalism. When she’s not at WKMS, you can find her working on her backyard compost pile and garden, getting lost on her bicycle or crocheting one massive blanket.

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