The Unemployment Filing Strategy is underway in Illinois!

  • A Supplement, for Illinois applicants, to Access to Unemployment Insurance Benefits for Contingent FacultyThis is an FAQ with specific advice on how to file in Illinois and what to expect in the interview.  It has links to the application form itself so you can prepare in advance and to other information.
  • Unemployment Insurance. Stage 1:  Filing and Interview – This is a form to collect data (contact info, when/where you filed, etc.) from those who are participating by filing for unemployment.  Information is power, so we need to know as much as possible about who’s filing and what happens.  This is a PDF form that you can print out, fill in and send back to us (instructions on the form).  Or, if you want to do this electronically…
  • Online Form for Stage 1 – Available here on the COCAL website, you can fill this out online and send it directly to us via email.
  • Applicant Information Sheet – fancy name for the unemployment application.  Follow the link to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, where they have available a PDF which you can either print out blank, or fill out and then print out with your info filled in.
  • Advice for Appealing – At the request of some of the organizers and the IEA Higher Education Council, the IEA legal department developed this (PDF) document with advice on how to appeal if your claim is denied.

Access to Unemployment booklet

Earlier versions of this pamphlet have been available on the COCAL website since October 2007.  Now it has been updated and published with beautiful graphics after generous financial help from the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and the American Association of University Professors.

You can still download a PDF version of this revised pamphlet from this website (without the cover page) by following the “download” link below.

Download a PDF