Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

Metro-east jobless welcome extension of benefits

House approves 20-week extension

BELLEVILLE -- Those seeking assistance Thursday afternoon at the local unemployment office support a federal bill that would extend jobless benefits for up to 20 weeks.

The legislation, called the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act, passed the House on Thursday afternoon and heads to President Barack Obama's desk since the Senate had approved it Wednesday.

Belleville resident Vivian Baker said the extension will certainly help. She had lost her job working in patient billing and has gone back to college so she can eventually work in computer information systems.

"Well I think it's good," Baker said. "They need it. People are not finding jobs as quickly as they hoped they would be. This could give them a lot of hope."

Lonard Young, 46, also of Belleville, was laid off Monday from his job at Heidtman Steel in Granite City. He also welcomes the move.

"I think they should because the economy is so bad," Young said. "I've just been laid off of my job. It's just bad. People are suffering. I'm trying to find a job, and it's hard. It's really hard to find a job."

Another Belleville resident said he fears high unemployment will lead to other problems.

"If they don't extend it, then the crime rate will go up because there's not jobs around here," said 33-year-old Gerald Greenwood, who attends Southwestern Illinois College under the Trade Readjustment Allowances program. Under the Federal Trade Act, program provides special benefits to those like Greenwood who were laid off or had hours reduced because their employer was adversely affected by increased imports from other countries.

Illinois Department of Employment Security spokesman Greg Rivara said this could help the state, where the jobless rate has reached 10 percent. Rivara said that since September, an estimated 26,000 unemployed Illinoisans had exhausted their benefits. He said the department projects that this will continue, and the number will climb to an estimated 40,000 people by the end of the year.

"Certainly, this benefits people who are collecting unemployment insurance, but specifically we need to be looking at the rules to see who it will benefit," Rivara said. "We are talking about long-term unemployment. We are talking about folks who, unfortunately, have not been successful in their efforts to find meaningful employment for many, many months. Right now, we are closely looking at that and when action will and when it will take place. It's in the implementation date, what it will be and the rules that will govern the implementation. The rules are the key."

The Associated Press contributed information to this story. Contact reporter Will Buss at wbuss@bnd.com or 239-2526.