We break down complex business news to help you understand how money moves in Chicago and how it affects you.
Thousands of Illinois residents may be waiting for a check from the state to arrive in their mailboxes.
The Illinois Department of Treasury recently sent record unclaimed property checks totaling $13.2 million to 138,561 people in Illinois.
Treasury Secretary Michael Frerichs held a press conference Tuesday to remind Illinoisans to cash those checks.
“We’re going to great lengths to convince the people of this state that identity thieves exist, that we think it’s a scam, that we think it’s a hoax, and that their checks aren’t being cashed.” It went well,” Frerichs said.
“This money does not belong to the state, it belongs to the people, and we are happy to give it back.”
These checks are part of the latest wave sent through the Enhanced Money Match program, which allows Illinois residents to have their money automatically returned to them by the Treasury Department without having to file a claim.
The program uses information collected by the state and matches it to the state treasurer’s unclaimed property database.
If the Treasurer’s Office matches the recipient’s name and address, the check will be sent. All you need to do is turn it into cash.
“If you see a check in the mail from the state treasurer’s office, it’s not a scam,” Frerichs said. “All you have to do is open the envelope and cash the check.”
Since the program began in 2018, the Treasury Department has returned more than $102 million to approximately 422,000 people.
Frerichs said most of the checks issued in this round were between $50 and $100.
However, sometimes life-changing amounts of money sit unclaimed in real estate.
In 2022, the Froehlich family announces the largest unclaimed fortune and heirs in history. That was $11 million left behind by a Southwest Side man with no immediate family.
Joseph Stancak, described by the few who knew him as a recluse and recluse, died in 2016 at the age of 87 without leaving a will.
The money was kept until the rightful heirs emerged, and Barrington eventually found 119 clear heirs.
To check your unclaimed property, visit www.illinoistreasurer.gov/ICASH.
