Check your mailbox: More than 60,000 people in Illinois are in line to automatically receive checks for as much as $5,000 in unclaimed property. Are you 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, new enhancements to the program allowed the state to mail a check out with no claim needed, a recent release from State Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs said.
According to the release, checks worth up to $5,000 will automatically be mailed to more than 66,000 people who are owed money but have not claimed it. Prior to the changes, the automatic payment cap was $2,000.
The enhancement, part of the state's "Money Match" program, crossmatches state data with the treasurer's unclaimed property database, the release said.
"When a matching name and mailing address is identified and confirmed, the unclaimed property owner will receive a letter from the Treasurer’s Office that describes the amount and source of the money," the release continued.
After an additionally security step is completed, Frerichs' office will then issue a check to the owner, the release said.
"All they have have to do is watch for the mail," the release added.
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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.
So far this month, approximately 66,700 individuals in Illinois have been sent checks, with the potential for additional checks to be issued in the coming weeks, the release said.
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The total amount the automatic mailing program will return is $47 million, officials said.
Illinois residents can check to see if they have unclaimed property in a number of ways. NBC 5 Investigates has a full list of ways you can check to see if you are owed money.
