Dear Jennifer;
Working for/getting assignments through the IPIU from numerous agencies is fine, since that is the way you are assigned the tasks, but you are not considered an employee of a particular agency. I was talking about getting work outside of the IPIU and trying to get jobs with more than one agency to have enough work to make the money you need. Many times if you get on with an agency they will have enough work and if you want more they will give it to you.
I have my own agency, Chicagoland Investigative Services, out of Chicago Ridge. I specialize in insurance fraud investigations and average driving 42,000 miles a year just in the greater Chicago area. Your lack of a vehicle will limit your options; however, you still have options. Imagine all of the companies that are served with suit papers each day in downtown alone. Someone has to do that. Parking a car would make that expensive, but it might be right up your alley. If you think that you ill like that call a company named Shadow Investigations out of Libertyville and tell them you are available in the downtown area. By all means use my name! Go to the 10th floor of the Dailey Center, (Criminal Division), any day of the week and you will see a bunch of young men and women sitting at computer terminals. They are all from private employers doing background checks by searching Cook County criminal records. Some also check other records in that same building or across the street at the Thompson Center, 8th floor, in the Industrial Commission. Stop by and talk with a few of them and ask them who they work for and the best way to get on. Consider training as a paralegal for one of the million or so law firms downtown. Many paralegals just do research or what we do. Check out the other forums about Secret Shoppers. I read where one person makes ten thousand a month just doing that. I’m sure there are thousands of things that I haven’t thought of, but it’s a BIG city with BIG needs. The best thing about not having a car is that you are never stuck in traffic.
Go to the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation and get started on getting your permanent employee registration card, PERC,
http://www.idfpr.com/.
Best of luck! If you have any questions I’d be glad to help if I can.
Bill