Tag Archives: free money

Illinois is mailing 73K people checks for unclaimed money. Here’s how to find out if you’re included

More than 70,000 people in Illinois are slated to automatically receive checks for as much as $5,000 in unclaimed property. Could you be one of them?

Illinois’ Unclaimed Property Program, or I-Cash — one of several ways Illinois residents can find unclaimed money owed to them — previously required that residents file a claim in order to collect any outstanding funds. However, the state can now mail a check without a claim being filed, State Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs said in a previous news release.

In a Monday update, Frerich’s office said letters will soon be going out to more than 73,000 people who will automatically receive checks of up to $5,000 under its Enhanced Money Match program.

The program crossmatches state data with the treasurer’s unclaimed property database, according to officials. In August, a separate batch of letters went out to more than 66,000 residents who were in line to receive checks for unclaimed property.

According to Frerichs’ office, the program is limited to cash owed to an individual, and does not include money owed to multiple parties, the joint holdings of a parent and minor child, shares and bonds, escrow accounts or safe deposit boxes.

Illinois residents can check to see if they have unclaimed property in a number of ways. Here is a full list of ways you can check to see if you are owed money.