The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) and the Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT) have partnered together to integrate ILogin, a new identity verification and multi-factor authentication (MFA) solution into the IDES unemployment insurance benefit system this week.

ILogin creates a new, simple, more secure login process for claimants accessing their IDES accounts, including integrating MFA and identity verification software to protect claimants.

ILogin utilizes security industry best practices to protect users, including identity proofing, authentication methods, fraud analytics, and threat monitoring.  The new solution uses an identity cloud platform and integrates the use of MFA, which adds another layer of validation to claimant accounts.

“IDES is excited to integrate ILogin to its unemployment insurance benefit system and provide claimants with a more simplified, secure account,” said IDES Acting Director Kristin Richards.  “Account and identity protection is top of mind for the department, particularly as personal information was taken advantage of at such an unprecedented rate nationwide during the pandemic.  ILogin will enhance existing protections for users and increase the department’s ability to monitor and track fraudulent user activity within the system.”

“Identity access management at the State of Illinois was accelerated as demand for online access to state services rapidly increased during the pandemic,” said DoIT Acting Secretary and Illinois Chief Information Officer Jennifer Ricker. “ILogin will not only strengthen security, but also improve the online experience for our residents to conduct business with the State of Illinois in what will soon become a unified site to access state services.”

Claimants who have previously filed an unemployment insurance claim will be required to complete an account setup process when first accessing ILogin, which will include establishing a new ILogin ID and preferred method of MFA, which can include an access code received via text message or phone call.

The new ILogin account will replace any current IDES username and password and will grant claimants access to their existing IDES account.

New claimants filing an unemployment insurance claim will be required to undergo an identity proofing registration process in addition to completing the account setup process when accessing ILogin.  All users, new and existing, must have an email address to register with ILogin and access their account online.

The IDES unemployment insurance system will be the second public facing system to integrate ILogin.  Additional State of Illinois applications will also be utilizing ILogin in the coming months which will provide a uniform login process to users who have accounts with multiple state systems.

More information, including how to create a new ILogin account, assistance with forgotten or resetting passwords, and assistance with setting up MFA, can be found on the ILogin FAQ webpage.