If you are in need of Illinois unemployment benefits then you need to fill out an application sooner rather than later. Getting this done will allow time for processing so you aren’t crunched for time when your bills are due and you’re still waiting for a check. The first place you need to go is to the Illinois Department of Employment Services website, which has the application for everyone in the state who needs to collect this money each month. There is a paper application but the processing time for this takes far longer and is very inconvenient. You will need to fill out the application completely, do not leave anything out or you can expect the time it takes to get an answer to be a lot longer. Also make sure to mail in any documents that are additionally needed, sometimes these can be faxed over as well.