Are You Owed Unclaimed Money?

Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford is encouraging Lake, Kane and McHenry County residents to attend one of his 10 Cash Dash events in the area Nov. 16-17 to determine if the state is holding any money or unclaimed property entitled to them.

Locally, a Cash Dash event will be held from 2-4 p.m. Nov. 16 at the .

“People are thrilled to find out they have money just waiting for them through Cash Dash,” said Rutherford. “I encourage area residents to come visit me at local Cash Dash events for assistance is locating their money or property — plus everyone should make an attempt to review our online database annually so they don’t miss out on money or valuable assets the state is holding for them.”

The treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Division has $1.5 billion in cash, plus contents from Illinois bank safety deposit boxes that have been abandoned for at least five years. The Cash Dash program helps reunite owners with their unclaimed property. On average, the Cash Dash program returns about $80 million dollars annually to owners. It’s common for people to lose track of their assets when they move or when loved ones pass away. Businesses and banks are required to turn over unclaimed accounts to the treasurer’s office.

Some examples of unclaimed property currently held by the treasurer’s office include the following:

• Money in inactive savings and checking accounts
• Unpaid wages or commissions
• Stocks, bonds and mutual funds
• Money orders and bill overpayments
• Paid-up life insurance policies
• Safety deposit box contents.

To find out if you have unclaimed property through Cash Dash, you can visit the treasurer’s website at www.treasurer.il.gov and follow the Cash Dash link. The website is updated weekly to reflect new properties remitted to the office.  Additionally, Cash Dash teams conduct regular outreach across the state, place twice-annual inserts in major newspapers and send direct mail to new single-owner claimants with property worth more than $100. You can contact the Unclaimed Property Division by calling 217-785-6998 or emailing info@cashdash.net. 

This information was provided by Melissa Hahn, press secretary to Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutehrford.