Unemployment Benefits for Indiana Residents Who Work in Illinois

When you live close to the Indiana-Illinois state line, you may live in one state and work in the other. However, if you lose your job, filing for unemployment insurance benefits can be confusing. Typically, if you live in Indiana and lose your job in Illinois, you can collect benefits from Illinois.

To qualify for unemployment insurance benefits in Illinois, you must be able to work, actively looking for employment and available for a full-time job. You can only collect benefits if your previous wages meet minimum earning requirements, your previous employer paid toward unemployment insurance and you worked long enough to qualify for coverage. You must also show that you weren't at fault for the loss of your job.

Illinois offers unemployment insurance benefits to workers who live in its border states, which include Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin. However, to qualify for interstate benefits, you typically must have worked in Illinois within the last 18 months and either be looking for work in Illinois or be laid off from an Illinois employer for 10 weeks or less.

To apply for unemployment insurance benefits in Illinois, you must file an application with the Illinois Department of Employment Security. You will be assigned a day that you must call each week to claim benefits for that week. It usually takes three weeks from the time you file your initial claim to start receiving benefits. Each week, you must update IDES about your job search. If IDES discovers that you weren't actively seeking work during a week, you may not receive benefits for that week.

If you also have worked in another state in the past 18 months, or if you are looking for work in another state, you may not be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits from Illinois. If approved for Illinois unemployment insurance benefits, you must pay Illinois state income tax. You can opt to have this tax withheld from your benefits, or you can pay it later.