Event Details

Illinois Department of Employment Services will share information about Unemployment Insurance, protests, COVID (being able and available for work) and the appeals process. 

Rhonda Krueger, Office Manager of Illinois Department of Employment Security, Ottawa IL will be our speaker and will introduce us to Kim Martens, the Local IDES Office Manager in Sterling. 

If you have specific questions for Kim, please email them to sally_hanrahan@best-inc.org. Questions should be received by February 16th.

Here is a little more about our speakers:

My name is Rhonda Krueger.  I moved to the Illinois Valley area in 1990 from Springfield (my hometown).  I live in Peru, IL with my husband Mark and my son, Marcus.  I obtained my B.A. from Illinois State University with a major in Spanish and a minor in Criminal Justice.  I worked for LaSalle County 13^th Judicial Circuit in Juvenile Detention and Probation for over a decade.  I also worked as a Foster Care Case Worker at Youth Service Bureau.  I started in workforce development in 2002 when I worked for Business Employment Skills Team.  I continued my experience in workforce development in 2004 when I was hired by the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) as an Intermittent Program Rep.  In 2007, I was promoted to Employment Security Service Rep.  My main duty as a Service Rep was investigating unemployment adjudication issues and issuing determinations to claimants and employers.  I also assisted local employers with placing job orders in the system to help find qualified candidates for their job openings.  I believe that the experience I  gained in workforce development, Unemployment Insurance claims and my knowledge of the Unemployment law as an Adjudicator really helped me in my current position as a Local Office Manager at IDES.  When I became the Local Office Manager of the Ottawa Office in August 2015, I also became a member of the NCI Works Workforce Board for our Local Workforce Area. 

My name is Kim Martens.  I live in Dixon, IL with my husband and my three girls.  I obtained my B.S. from Illinois State University with a major in Early Childhood Education.  I worked as a supervisor in various departments for IL Department of Human Services at Mabley Center for over 20 years.  I was the Vocational Administrator for 14 of those years charged with the agency’s goal to seek meaningful jobs and teach job skills to people with intellectual disabilities.

I changed careers in April, 2021 where I was hired by the IL Department of Employment Security (IDES) as the Local Office Manager in Sterling. I have spent my time getting to know the Sterling staff as well as learning more about my new role with IDES.