Illinois Sending Checks To 138K People: How To Tell If You’re One
A long while back, I had a friend who had walked out to his mailbox one morning and found an unmarked cloth sack that contained around $10,000 inside the mailbox.
As you might imagine, he was a little confused by the sudden windfall, but he was willing to put his surprise and confusion aside when he started focusing on what he was going to do with the newfound pile of cash.
Well, to trim a chunk of the story away and just get to the payoff, I'll tell you that he never got the chance to do anything with the money because some police officers showed up at his house later asking if he'd found a bag of money that had been taken by burglars and then dumped into a mailbox when the burglars realized the police had been called.
Here's what you can take away from this tale: If you find a bunch of money (it won't be in cash) in your mailbox soon, you won't have to return it because the state of Illinois wants you to have it.
Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs Has Got A Little Over $13 Million Dollars That He's Going To Be Sending Out (In The Form Of A Check) To Almost 140,000 Illinoisans
State government, especially here in Illinois, is always a lot better at collecting money from citizens than they are about sending it out, but in this case they're willing to make an exception.
The $13.2 million payout is an offshoot of the Illinois Treasury Secretary's Enhanced Money Match Program which works to return money to people without a claim being filed with the unclaimed cash and property division of treasurer's office.
So, who's getting the money? According to Patch.com:
Owners of unclaimed property will receive a letter describing the amount and source of the money followed by a check. Since 2018, the treasurer’s office has returned over $102 million to nearly 422,000 people through the program. This most recent round of checks to 138,561 recipients will be the largest such match in the nation.
Here's What You Need To Do, And How Much Money You Could Receive From The Illinois Treasurer's Office
If you're really busy, you'll love the answer to the question of what you have to do to find a check in your mailbox.
Nothing. Because the state's unclaimed property database is cross-matched with the treasurer's Enhanced Money Match program, they already know who has the unclaimed property and cash.
You'll receive a letter from the Illinois Treasurer's Office that will tell you what the source of the money is, and how much money you'll be getting. Next comes the check.
Amounts will vary, but most people will be looking at anywhere from $50 to $100.
(Click here to check if you have unclaimed cash or property in Illinois.)
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Gallery Credit: Chandler Friedman