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No One Answering the Phone For Illinois Circuit Breaker Program

Thu, 05/03/2001 - 11:00pm — Karen Stevenson
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The Chicago Tribune reports that Illinois Department of Revenue (IDR) officials have programmed a special toll-free tax hot line for seniors and the disabled, 1-800-624-2459, so that no one can get through to ask questions more than three times a week. The line is used by people who have questions about the complex circuit-breaker program which provides property tax relief and prescription drug discounts for the elderly and disabled. The Tribune reports that officials of the Department of Revenue said they made the decision to ration calls because the agency lacks resources to adequately staff the hot line. The agency first implemented call rationing in 1998 to limit inquiries from people who bombard the hot line several times a day just to ask where their checks are, and noted that one man from Peoria called the hot line 1,520 times in 45 days. According to the Tribune story, the hot line logged nearly 1.3 million attempts to access it in March, but only 26,317 of those calls were routed to live operators. 62,150 calls went into an automated system that gives answers to frequently asked questions, and more than 90% of incoming calls to the hot line got a busy signal. Officials are also trying to encourage people to use their Web site to reduce the call levels.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Illinois Department of Revenue (IDR) officials have programmed a special toll-free tax hot line for seniors and the disabled, 1-800-624-2459, so that no one can get through to ask questions more than three times a week. The line is used by people who have questions about the complex circuit-breaker program which provides property tax relief and prescription drug discounts for the elderly and disabled. The Tribune reports that officials of the Department of Revenue said they made the decision to ration calls because the agency lacks resources to adequately staff the hot line. The agency first implemented call rationing in 1998 to limit inquiries from people who bombard the hot line several times a day just to ask where their checks are, and noted that one man from Peoria called the hot line 1,520 times in 45 days. According to the Tribune story, the hot line logged nearly 1.3 million attempts to access it in March, but only 26,317 of those calls were routed to live operators. 62,150 calls went into an automated system that gives answers to frequently asked questions, and more than 90% of incoming calls to the hot line got a busy signal. Officials are also trying to encourage people to use their Web site to reduce the call levels.