Unemployment benefits in Illinois

47% of your prior average weekly wage, computed from your two highest base-period quarters via an IDES benefit table. The minimum weekly benefit is $51, and the maximum is $628. $628/week is the individual maximum for benefit years beginning on or after January 1, 2026; it rises to $748 with a non-working spouse or $859 with a dependent child. Below $800 in your two highest quarters combined, the table pays $0.

Up to 26 weeks, the standard duration most states pay.

Standard, with minimum qualifying wages of $1,600 in the base period and at least $440 of it outside your highest quarter.

$628 a week is the most Illinois pays, before any deductions you elect such as tax withholding or child support. Most claimants receive less, because the weekly amount is calculated from your own base-period wages: 47% of your prior average weekly wage, computed from your two highest base-period quarters via an IDES benefit table.

This page does not model payment dates. Timing is set by Illinois's own unemployment agency rather than by the benefit formula, and normally depends on when your weekly or biweekly claim is filed and processed rather than on a fixed calendar day. What this page does model is how much you are owed and for how long, both traced to the sources listed below.