![]() These once meant something to someone, and either they or their heirs have forgotten about it.”Ĭamp said that anything that is not claimed is auctioned off, because there’s not enough space to keep it. An amazing array of collectibles from time past - wills and even war medals. “These jewels and valuables are simply left in safety deposit boxes. “So, really, with one-in-five chances, you’ve got something better than the lottery!” The billion dollars’ worth of unclaimed assets that have been abandoned for five years or more sit in a vault at the state capitol in Springfield.Īllissa Camp, Director of Unclaimed Property, showed Vatis the stash of goods. “We’re talking five million names and $1 billion,” Topinka said. Topinka said the number of potential claimants gives Illinois residents a one-in-five chance of being on the list of people whose money is being held by the state of Illinois. “Over the last two years, we’ve returned $125 million to people.” The biggest payout, so far, has been $800,000, according to Topinka. “We just try to pump it back,” Topinka said. State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka initiated “Illinois Dash for Cash,” the state’s campaign to get people their money. ![]() “I don’t know (why it was there) - could have been stocks, bonds, inheritance.” “They told me Chase Manhattan Bank, out of New York,” Dugan said of the money’s source. “How could I have lost this without knowing it?” One claim alone gave him a $13,000 check. Steve Dugan, for instance, was able to claim more than $20,000. While the average payout is $400 to $600, Vatis said, there are also bigger windfalls. ![]() The unclaimed funds usually come from forgotten bank accounts, stocks, bonds, security deposits and insurance checks, Vatis reported, but sometimes, she said, even entire estates go unclaimed. “I had a deceased aunt, with a savings account (that was) never claimed,” said Fadi Zanayed. All you need is your name on the Illinois Dash For Cash website, and the state’s computers will figure out if you’re entitled to any of the unclaimed money. If you would like to learn more about the Unclaimed Property Division, please visit questions, please contact the treasurer’s office at 21.The Illinois Dash For Cash is the term the Illinois Treasure’s Department uses to describe their unclaimed money search website.ĬHICAGO - You say you could never lose your money? You could be surprised, NBC5’s Kim Vatis said, because according to the State Treasurer, there could be a one-in-five chance that some of the forgotten funds held by the Illinois Treasurer’s Office belong to you. The next online auction hosted by the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office will be July 8-12, 2013. In addition, Rutherford says using the online auction required less time and attention from salaried employees, plus no physical space, hardware or security expenses. Under the previously used eBay auction system, it cost the treasurer’s office approximately $29,000 to sell a similarly appraised amount of unclaimed property. Under Rutherford ’s online auction system, only $2,000 was used for the new iBid program to sell auction items. Rutherford chose to conduct this unclaimed property auction online because it was more cost effective than having a live, in-person auction. “Using this process cuts auction costs significantly,” said Rutherford. “The items ranged from ladies 14kt gold bracelet to 50 peso gold coins to a lot of Morgan silver dollars.” All items sold in the auction were appraised by an outside vendor. The sale price of each lot was required to reach at least 75 percent of the appraised value. “We sold a wide variety of interesting items in this auction, with total sales at $120,906, well above the $105,895 appraisal value,” explained Rutherford. The treasurer’s office hosts the Illinois State Treasurer’s Online Unclaimed Property Auction because the rightful owners have not come forward to claim the items in more than five years. I am also pleased to note that we had more than 480,000 page views and nearly 116,000 unique users explore our auction,” said Rutherford. The website to check the I-Cash database is at “This auction listed 12,444 pieces of unclaimed property and sold 12,153 of the items for a 98 percent success rate. ![]() “These auctions represent great opportunities to spread the word about I-Cash, because within minutes, you could find out if jewelry, coins, or money are being held in your name or in the name of your family members,” said Rutherford. SPRINGFIELD – Ma– Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford is pleased to announce the success of the Illinois State Treasurer’s Online Unclaimed Property Auction.
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