Waiting 20 weeks on my first unemployment payment - what worked for you?

I applied for unemployment in Chicago 20 weeks ago and the status page still says pending. I am in Chicago, in case local advice matters. I called the state line four times and only reached a recording. Has anyone been through this? How long did it take in the end?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.