With Second Round Of Stimulus Appearing Closer, Some People Still Waiting For First Check

CHICAGO (CBS) -- President Donald Trump says a second round of stimulus checks could be on the way, but some people are still waiting on the first. Some say, because of a lack of answers from the IRS, they don't even know what's causing the delay.

CBS 2 Morning Insider Tim McNicholas has been speaking with people who should be eligible, but they haven't seen the money.

Payment status not available. That's the message Crystal Scelzi gets from the IRS website when checking on her stimulus check.

"It continues to say the same thing," she said. "I first applied back in April, I thought everything was fine."

But she said she never heard anything else about the check, and when everyone else started getting theirs, she checked online and got that same message.

The single mom said she'd been working as a waitress, but the pandemic shut down her job.

"My kids are about to start school, and things like that, and I desperately need this money," she said.

Scelzi said she's currently living in a Chicago Housing Authority building, and trying to get back on her feet after years of being homeless.

She reached out to Lincoln Park Community Services, where homeless services program manager Brianne Spresser helped her re-file.

"Sometimes the people who need it most just don't have the access. It was never really clear with the IRS what the timeline was, what to do," Spresser said.

Spresser said she's still hearing from a few people every week who haven't gotten their checks.

As for Scelzi, after connecting with Spresser, she got a message this week saying her application's been accepted. Yet online it still says payment status not available.

"I am to the point now where I'll believe it when I see it," she said.

While she's waiting, so is Lisa Mischke. She said she tried for months to get a hold of someone at the IRS to find out where her check is, and when she finally connected with someone last week, they couldn't explain it.

"There's got to be some answers for people that haven't received it. I mean, I'm 58 years old and I've been paying taxes since I was 16 years old," Mischke said.

Mischke wondered if the holdup might have something to do with the fact that she filed her 2019 taxes jointly with her now deceased husband, but without answers from the IRS, she doesn't know.

CBS 2 reached out to the IRS to ask about both these cases, and if things might go smoother if there's a second round of checks. They haven't gotten back to us with any answers, either.