February 8, 2007

Many people find it hard to believe they would ever over pay a bill or lose track of a safety deposit box.

So, you can imagine the surprise of newly elected Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias when he discovered his name appeared on the state’s list of unclaimed property owners. Having overpaid a registration fee to the Law School Admission Council in 1998, Giannoulias is now awaiting a check from his office for $36.

“If the state’s banker is owed money, anyone could be on the list,” Giannoulias said. “The chances that you or someone you know have unclaimed property is more common than you might think. Finding out is free and easy and could end up getting you some extra spending money.”

More than 75,000 individuals and businesses have been added to the state’s unclaimed property rolls since the list was published in August, bringing the database to a record 10.2 million names. This month, the new additions will be listed in newspapers across the state with the hopes that more people will collect what’s owed to them.

The Treasurer’s Office currently holds over eight million properties worth more than $1.4 billion. Unclaimed property consists of money and other assets that are considered lost or abandoned after an owner cannot be located for more than five years.

The most common assets include abandoned savings and checking accounts, unpaid wages or commissions, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, un-cashed dividends, customer deposits or overpayments, credit balances, refunds, money orders, travelers checks, paid-up life insurance policies and safe deposit box contents.

The list of unclaimed property owners will appear in newspapers regionally in
February as follows:

Week of Feb. 11 for Central Illinois (counties listed alphabetically) Adams, Brown, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Coles, Cumberland, Dewitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Fulton, Greene, Hancock, Henderson, Iroquois, Knox, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McLean, Menard, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Peoria, Piatt, Pike, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Tazewell, Vermilion, Warren, Woodford.

Week of Feb. 18 for Northern, Southern and Metro East Illinois Alexander, Boone, Bond, Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, DeKalb, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Franklin, Gallatin, Grundy, Hamilton, Hardin, Henry, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Johnson, Kankakee, La Salle, Lawrence, Lee, Madison, Marion, Massac, Mercer, Monroe, Ogle, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Richland, Rock Island, St. Clair, Saline, Stephenson, Union, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White, Whiteside, Williamson and Winnebago.

Week of Feb. 25 for Cook and Collar Counties
Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will.

The State Treasurer’s Office has returned more than $400 million in unclaimed property since taking over the duty in July 1999. Last fiscal year, the office returned a record $84 million and officials hope to set a new record this fiscal year.

An estimated one in six people have lost assets at the Illinois Treasurer’s Office. In many cases, people move and forget to furnish their broker, bank, employer or insurance company with a forwarding address. Eventually, the money makes its way to the Treasurer’s Office for distribution.

Thankful recipients

Emma Martens was surprised to find her name on the state’s unclaimed property rolls. The 81-year-old Lake Villa woman was even more surprised when she got a $966 check in the mail, a payout from a life insurance policy. The check amounted to more than the Social Security she lives on each month and it covered the bill for dental work not covered by Medicare.

“It was wonderful,” she said. “I was able to replenish my bank account.”

Hazel Yantz said her daughter-in-law saw Yantz’s name and old address in the newspaper. Yantz, 86, of Joliet, believes the money was from her late husband’s life insurance policy. He died 20 years ago in July. She welcomed the check.

“I was surprised and it came in handy. I got a new furnace,” she said.

Betty Lou Labriola thought the offer of free money was too good to be true. She showed the list to her banker who assured her it was OK to file the claim with her Social Security number. The 77-year-old Blue Island woman received a check for about $500, a payout from a life insurance policy that she put in the bank.

“To me, it’s unbelievable,” she said. “How could people not know they had money. But then it happened to me.”

Michael Abrams of Springfield filed a claim recently after both his daughter and cousin spotted his name on the Cash Dash list. He received two checks worth more than $700. The money came from two forgotten escrow accounts.

“It took longer for me to gather the information to make the claim than actually getting the refund,” he said. “Within a week, the check was in the mail.”

Dorothy Beck Roethe’s sister-in-law, who lives in Pinckneyville, spotted Roethe’s name the newspaper. The 78-year-old Columbia woman was wary of identity theft so she called Springfield and Prudential Financial to verify her claim. In a short time, she received a check for more than $1,000. As far as she can figure, the money was interest paid on a life insurance policy that her parents took out when she was just a girl. The family lived across the street from an insurance salesman in Pinckneyville for a time, though she was too young to remember having a policy.

“I was stunned to find out I was due some money. I really appreciated it,” she said.

There are many ways for citizens to find out if the Treasurer is holding their property. Twice yearly the Treasurer publishes a list comprised of the most recently remitted properties; at the same time, state legislators are provided with a list of the newly reported names in their districts.

The Treasurer maintains a web site, www.cashdash.net, with a searchable database of unclaimed assets. Throughout the year, the Treasurer sponsors outreach activities at shopping centers and village halls to help citizens who are unfamiliar with the Unclaimed Property Division or who do not have Internet access to search the database for the property.

When a person finds their name listed in the newspaper or on the web site, he or she must mail a written inquiry to the Treasurer’s Office. The inquiry should include a current name and address, previous names, past addresses, a Social Security number and the relationship or authority if he or she is an heir. Claims cannot be approved without Social Security numbers. An owner never loses his or her rights to their property. The state holds the property until the owner or heir claims it.

For more information about unclaimed property, visit the web site at www.cashdash.net; write the Illinois State Treasurer, Unclaimed Property Division, P.O. Box 19495, Springfield, IL, 62794-9495; or call 217-785-6998 or toll-free 1-866-458-7327 (in Illinois only).