You may be one of thousands of people owed money from unclaimed property in Illinois - or any state for that matter - but there's no better time to claim it.
National Unclaimed Property Day is Thursday the Illinois State Treasurer's office is urging people to look for and claim their money to honor it.
"Feb. 1 is National Unclaimed Property Day. Across the country, states will raise awareness and encourage people to check if they have cash or property owed to them. In Illinois, we are highlighting the I-Cash program," the treasurer's office said in a note to residents.
The program offers residents an option to check for unclaimed property in their name online via a database.
The Illinois State Treasurer is in possession of more than $5 billion in unclaimed funds for Illinois residents, such as accounts being held at entities such as corporations, financial institutions, courts and life insurance companies, that have gone dormant for a specified period of time, the treasurer's website says.
"The state holds these lost funds until they are claimed by either the original owner or their heirs," the office's website reads. "Property is returned at no cost with the proper identification."
According to a press release issued in September, State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said more than 60,000 people in Illinois were in line to automatically receive checks for as much as $5,000 in unclaimed property. Through enhancements to Illinois' Unclaimed Property Program, residents can receive a check for unclaimed money without having to file a claim as previously required.
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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. After an additionally security step is completed, Frerichs' office will then issue a check to the owner, according to the release.
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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.
The NBC 5/Telemundo Chicago Investigative and Responds teams previously researched billions of dollars owed to millions of people across the greater Chicago area, mostly from places people aren’t aware of. Those include bankruptcy refunds, unpaid wages, insurance refunds and Chicago's trove of uncashed checks, among many others.
Here's a full list of ways you can check to see if you are owed money.
