Does Illinois Have Your Money? $2.9 Billion In Funds Unclaimed

SPRINGFIELD, IL — The State of Illinois is holding on to $2.9 billion in unclaimed money, and some of it could be yours. Treasurer Michael Frerichs says the money is held until it is claimed by the rightful owner or that person's heirs — and many people who have unclaimed cash don't even know about it.

What is unclaimed property? "Unclaimed property consists of accounts and other financial instruments, usually intangible, being held at corporations, financial institutions, financial intermediaries, courts and life insurance companies, that have gone dormant for a specified period of time based on property type," according to Frerichs' website.

That includes forgotten checking and savings accounts, uncashed payroll checks, uncashed stock dividends and stock certificates, insurance payments, utility deposits, customer deposits, accounts payable, credit balances, refund checks, money orders, traveler’s checks, mineral proceeds, court deposits, uncashed death benefit checks and life insurance proceeds.

Unclaimed property does NOT include real estate or vehicles.

How do you find out if you're missing out on money that's rightfully yours? You can search on the state treasurer's website. To narrow the search, include a city or ZIP code. Once you find your property, you can click to claim it and again to file your claim.

The state also routinely auctions off unclaimed assets and valuables including jewelry and rare collectibles. The most recent auction ended Dec. 1, but check back with the treasurer's website for upcoming auctions.

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