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The first four days · Illinois Day 0 = 3 Sep 2026 · Day 3 = 6 Sep 2026 Document RML-20260903-IL-SAMPLE · built 2026-09-03
Laid off in Illinois: the first four days
Where to file, the state’s published weekly benefit floor and ceiling, the two 60-day health-coverage windows, and the WARN list — each with the office that decides, the rule quoted from the agency that publishes it, and the date we read it. Dated 3 Sep 2026.
Read first — what this document is built on, and what it cannot know
This document was assembled on 3 Sep 2026 for one state (Illinois) and dated from that day: Day 0 is 3 Sep 2026. It is built from Illinois’s own unemployment filing page (fetched this build 2026-09-02); the Department of Labor’s table of state unemployment-insurance provisions effective January 2026 (the PDF fetched 2026-09-02, SHA-256 6e78c921551a…, parsed by software; figures verbatim); HealthCare.gov’s special-enrollment page and the Department of Labor’s two COBRA pages, quoted; Illinois’s WARN notice list (fetched this build 2026-09-02); the WARN and WIOA regulations in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, quoted. Every figure below carries a source marker that resolves in the ledger at the end, the date the page was read, and a verification tag.
It cannot know your weekly benefit amount (the state sets it from your wage record; the table gives the floor and the ceiling only), whether you are eligible for unemployment insurance, whether COBRA or a Marketplace plan costs you less, whether your employer owed notice, or whether a page changed after the date printed beside it. It contains no severance, retirement-account or benefit-amount arithmetic: those depend on your own notices and are questions for the agencies, a lawyer or a licensed adviser, not for this document.
1The first four days — dated from 3 Sep 2026
Four days, in the order the deadlines run: the unemployment claim, the job-center appointment, the two health-coverage windows, and the notice check. Each is a link to the office that decides, with the rule quoted from the agency that publishes it and the date we read it. Nothing here is advice. The agencies count their deadlines from the dates on your own notices, not from this document — if your last day was before 3 Sep 2026, the windows below opened then.
The Department of Labor’s table of state UI laws effective January 2026 prints Illinois’s weekly benefit amount as $51 / $77[S5] minimum and $628 / $859[S5] maximum; benefit weeks payable “Uniform duration 26[S5]” (page 2 of the PDF). The table prints two figures in that cell; both are shown in its order — the PDF row says which applies. Your own weekly amount is set by the state from your wage record; the table gives the floor and the ceiling only.
The regulation on who counts: “To be eligible to receive career services as a dislocated worker in the adult and dislocated worker programs, an individual must meet the definition of “dislocated worker” at WIOA sec. 3(15). Eligibility criteria for training services are found at § 680.210.”[S2]
Before you go, the free finder at retrainmap.com/funding/il/ shows what is on Illinois’s WIOA training list, what each program cost and what it produced, from the Department of Labor’s own program index. Your local job center decides eligibility — this shows what is on the list and what it cost and produced, not whether you will be approved.
Day 2 Sat 5 Sep 2026
Health coverage: two windows, both 60 days
Marketplace — HealthCare.gov says: “You may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period if you or anyone in your household lost qualifying health coverage in the past 60 days OR expects to lose coverage in the next 60 days.” “You may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period if you lose health coverage through your employer, COBRA, or a family member’s employer plan, including if you're no longer covered as a dependent on a parent or guardian’s plan.” “When your COBRA coverage ends, you have 60 days to enroll in a Marketplace health plan through a Special Enrollment Period. This applies when your COBRA coverage expires or is no longer available, not if you voluntarily cancel it before it ends.”[S6]
COBRA — the Department of Labor says: “You have 60 days to enroll in COBRA, starting when your job-based coverage ends or when you receive a COBRA election notice--whichever is later.” “You usually pay the full premium amount, unless your employer agrees to cover some or all of it as part of your separation.” “COBRA provides temporary coverage to you and your dependents--usually up to 18 months. Certain life events can extend it to 36 months.”[S7] “Qualified individuals may be required to pay the entire premium for coverage up to 102% of the cost to the plan.”[S8]
Which of the two costs you less is arithmetic on your own premium notices; this plan does not do it. The Department’s help line, as printed: “If you need further assistance, you can send us a message online or call (866) 444‑3272 and select option 2.”[S7]
Day 3 Sun 6 Sep 2026
Check the WARN list for your employer
Illinois’s list: Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity — WARN notices[S9] The page says: “Illinois WARN applies to employers with 75 or more full-time employees (excluding part-time workers) and requires employers to provide 60 days advance notice of pending plant closures or mass layoffs.”
What the federal rule requires: “With certain exceptions discussed in paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of this section and in § 639.9 of this part, notice must be given at least 60 calendar days prior to any planned plant closing or mass layoff, as defined in these regulations.”[S14] Who it covers: “The term “employer” means any business enterprise that employs— (i) 100 or more employees, excluding part-time employees; or (ii) 100 or more employees, including part-time employees, who in the aggregate work at least 4,000 hours per week, exclusive of hours of overtime.”[S12] What counts as a mass layoff: “The term “mass layoff” means a reduction in force which first, is not the result of a plant closing, and second, results in an employment loss at the single site of employment during any 30-day period for: (i) At least 33 percent of the active employees, excluding part-time employees, and (ii) At least 50 employees, excluding part-time employees.”[S13]
Enforcement: “Enforcement of WARN will be through the courts, as provided in section 5 of the statute. Employees, their representatives and units of local government may initiate civil actions against employers believed to be in violation of § 3 of the Act.”[S15] Whether your employer owed notice, and what follows if it did not give it, is a question for the agency or a lawyer — this plan shows where the list is and what the regulation says.
What this document cannot know: your weekly benefit amount, whether you are eligible for unemployment insurance, whether COBRA or a Marketplace plan costs you less, or whether your employer owed notice. It gives the office, the rule and the date; the decisions are made at the offices. If you go on to the $19 Directions plan, its ninety days start after these four.
2Verify before you act — the ledger
Every figure this document prints, where it came from, when we looked, and how far to trust it. The tags:
FETCHED THIS BUILD the agency’s own page or file, fetched by software on the date shown · URL PATTERN VERIFIED a URL pattern verified live for named states · NOT FETCHED — GAP nothing fetchable, printed as a gap
Weekly benefit amount, maximum — Illinois (DOL table effective January 2026)
$628 / $859
[S5]
2026-09-02
FETCHED THIS BUILD
Benefit weeks payable — Illinois (DOL table effective January 2026)
Uniform duration 26
[S5]
2026-09-02
FETCHED THIS BUILD
Sources and dates
Every marker above resolves here. Access dates are the dates the page or file was actually read; pages that refuse scripted fetches say so and were read in a browser on the date shown.
[S1] American Job Center finder, CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor) — state-filtered listing — Illinois. https://www.careeronestop.org/LocalHelp/AmericanJobCenters/find-american-job-centers.aspx?location=Illinois· accessed 2026-09-02 URL pattern verified live 2026-09-02 for IL, NC, NJ, TX (page titles 'American Job Center in <State>').
[S2] 20 CFR 680.130 — eligibility as a dislocated worker (eCFR, current as of 2026-08-31) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-20/chapter-V/part-680/subpart-A/section-680.130· accessed 2026-09-02
[S3] Find Unemployment Benefits — CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor): the state's own filing site and phone number — Illinois. https://www.careeronestop.org/LocalHelp/UnemploymentBenefits/find-unemployment-benefits.aspx?location=Illinois· accessed 2026-09-02 URL pattern verified live 2026-09-02 for TX, CA, IL, NC, NJ, FL.
[S4] Illinois Department of Employment Security — File an Unemployment Claim https://ides.illinois.gov/unemployment/file-a-claim.html· accessed 2026-09-02
[S5] U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Unemployment Insurance — Significant Provisions of State Unemployment Insurance Laws, Effective January 2026 (PDF) https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/content/sigpros/2020-2029/January2026.pdf· accessed 2026-09-02 Server Last-Modified Fri, 28 Aug 2026 12:34:47 GMT; SHA-256 6e78c921551a…; parsed by bin/ui_provisions.py — figures verbatim, footnote marks stripped.
[S6] HealthCare.gov — Special Enrollment Period (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage-outside-open-enrollment/special-enrollment-period/· accessed 2026-09-02
[S7] COBRA Continuation Coverage — U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/laws-and-regulations/laws/cobra· accessed 2026-09-02 dol.gov refuses scripted fetches; the page was read in a browser on the date shown.
[S8] Continuation of Health Coverage (COBRA) — U.S. Department of Labor topic page https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/health-plans/cobra· accessed 2026-09-02 dol.gov refuses scripted fetches; the page was read in a browser on the date shown.
[S9] Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity — Notices of Layoffs and Closures (WARN): dashboard and monthly WARN reports https://dceo.illinois.gov/workforcedevelopment/warn.html· accessed 2026-09-02
[S10] WARN Act Compliance Assistance — U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/layoffs/warn· accessed 2026-09-02 dol.gov refuses scripted fetches; the page was read in a browser on the date shown.
[S11] 20 CFR 639.1 — Purpose and scope of the WARN regulations (eCFR, title 20 up to date as of 2026-08-31) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-20/chapter-V/part-639/section-639.1· accessed 2026-09-02
[S12] 20 CFR 639.3 — Definitions: employer (eCFR, title 20 up to date as of 2026-08-31) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-20/chapter-V/part-639/section-639.3· accessed 2026-09-02
[S13] 20 CFR 639.3 — Definitions: mass layoff (eCFR, title 20 up to date as of 2026-08-31) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-20/chapter-V/part-639/section-639.3· accessed 2026-09-02
[S14] 20 CFR 639.5 — When must notice be given? (eCFR, title 20 up to date as of 2026-08-31) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-20/chapter-V/part-639/section-639.5· accessed 2026-09-02
[S15] 20 CFR 639.1 — WARN enforcement (eCFR, title 20 up to date as of 2026-08-31) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-20/chapter-V/part-639/section-639.1· accessed 2026-09-02
3What this document cannot know
Read this before acting on anything above
Your weekly benefit amount, or whether you will receive one. Illinois sets the amount from your own wage record and decides eligibility under its law; the Department of Labor’s table gives the state’s floor and ceiling and benefit weeks as published, nothing more. Nothing here is a calculation of what you would get.
Whether you are eligible for WIOA money or dislocated-worker services. That determination is made at your American Job Center, in person, under the federal rule quoted above and the state’s policies — not by this document and not by any website.
Whether COBRA or a Marketplace plan costs you less. That is arithmetic on your own premium notices; the two 60-day windows are quoted so you know they exist and when they close.
Whether your employer owed WARN notice, and what follows if it did not give it. The regulation is quoted and the list is linked; the question is for the agency or a lawyer.
Severance, retirement accounts, taxes on any of it. Deliberately not covered: they depend on documents only you hold and on advice this document does not give.
Whether a page changed after the date beside it. Every link carries the date it was read. Re-check the linked page before you act on it.