“We’re talking five million names and $1 billion,” Topinka said. Topinka said the number of potential claimants gives Illinois residents a one-in-five chance of being on the list of people whose money is being held by the state of Illinois. “Over the last two years, we’ve returned $125 million to people.” The biggest payout, so far, has been $800,000, according to Topinka. “We just try to pump it back,” Topinka said. State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka initiated “Illinois Dash for Cash,” the state’s campaign to get people their money. “I don’t know (why it was there) - could have been stocks, bonds, inheritance.” “They told me Chase Manhattan Bank, out of New York,” Dugan said of the money’s source. “How could I have lost this without knowing it?” One claim alone gave him a $13,000 check. Steve Dugan, for instance, was able to claim more than $20,000. While the average payout is $400 to $600, Vatis said, there are also bigger windfalls. ![]() The unclaimed funds usually come from forgotten bank accounts, stocks, bonds, security deposits and insurance checks, Vatis reported, but sometimes, she said, even entire estates go unclaimed. “I had a deceased aunt, with a savings account (that was) never claimed,” said Fadi Zanayed. All you need is your name on the Illinois Dash For Cash website, and the state’s computers will figure out if you’re entitled to any of the unclaimed money. Residents who want to know if they have unclaimed property available to them can visit the Illinois Treasurer website and enter their name, city and zip code to find out.įor more questions, residents can call The Office of Illinois State Treasurer at 80 or email to get answers or assistance with the I-Cash program.The Illinois Dash For Cash is the term the Illinois Treasure’s Department uses to describe their unclaimed money search website.ĬHICAGO - You say you could never lose your money? You could be surprised, NBC5’s Kim Vatis said, because according to the State Treasurer, there could be a one-in-five chance that some of the forgotten funds held by the Illinois Treasurer’s Office belong to you. The office encourages residents to check the unclaimed property database twice each year in order to ensure that they know when property or cash has been found by the office. “You’d be surprised what might be out there, and it’s really easy to check.” ![]() ![]() “My advice would be to not only check Illinois, but any state you’ve ever lived in,” Groves said. “Another common source of these are going to be deceased individuals where there are examples of either past paychecks or bank accounts we didn’t know they had.”Īccording to Groves, residents may want to check states other than Illinois to see if they have unclaimed property in their name. “The most common things are some sort of an asset held at a bank that could be a checking account, a savings account, a safe deposit box,” Groves said. Groves said that there can be many reasons why someone would have unclaimed property. “It’s often a surprise for people to find out they have an overlooked investment account or final paycheck through no fault of their own,” Frerichs said in the press release.Īssociate Professor of economics and Director of Graduate Studies Jeremy R. Frerichs that holds unclaimed property such as life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts and unused rebate cards until they are reclaimed by their owner.Īccording to a press release from the office, DeKalb County has more than $143,170 in unclaimed cash and properties amounting to more than $3.2 million with an average claim of $1,000 for residents.įrerichs said that it is very common for people to have unclaimed property without knowing it themselves, with an estimated one-in-four adults in Illinois finding unclaimed property through the I-Cash program. I-Cash is a program run by the office of Illinois State Treasurer Michael W. DeKALB – DeKalb County residents might have unclaimed money in their name, and a program from the Illinois State Treasurer is looking to reunite millions to the residents they belong to.
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