State Treasurer pushes to reunite Galesburg residents with unclaimed property, lost money
GALESBURG – Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs is looking to reunite tens of thousands of Galesburg-area residents with more than $8.4 million in unclaimed cash and property.
The money is waiting to be claimed under the office’s I-Cash program, which safeguards unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts and unused rebate cards until they can be returned to their owner. In Knox County, there are more than 63,650 unclaimed properties.
Frerichs’ reminder is part of a statewide digital media, newspaper and direct mail push to remind all Illinois residents that there’s more than $3.5 billion in unclaimed property. State law requires the Illinois Treasurer’s Office to publish newspaper ads in all 102 Illinois counties every six months and to send letters to residents who have newly reported unclaimed property of $100 or more.
“It’s often a surprise for people to find out they have an overlooked investment account or final paycheck they forgot to grab. We aim to rectify that oversight, and it’s easier than ever to do,” Frerichs said. “This money and property belong to the residents of Illinois. It should be in their pocketbook rather than the state’s safe.”
An estimated one-in-four adults in Illinois who search I-Cash find unclaimed property, and the average claim is $1,000. Treasurer Frerichs has returned a record $1.3 billion in unclaimed property through nearly 1 million claims during his tenure after he prioritized changes in technology, efficiency and state law to streamline the process.
Thousands of items are reported and remitted to the state annually, and residents are encouraged to check the unclaimed property database twice each year. Set up a reminder on your smart phone’s calendar or fire up your computer and do a search when you change your smoke detector batteries every six months.
Visit www.illinoistreasurer.gov/ICASH to enter your name and find out if unclaimed property is waiting for you.
This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Illinois Treasurer pushes to reunite Galesburg residents with lost money
