Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford to Publish Public Notice of Unclaimed Property.Does the state have your money?
Office of Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford|Friday, August 5, 2011
This month, Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford will be publishing lists of names of new unclaimed property owners who have recently been entered into the state database. “My hope is that by publishing these lists, people will realize that they now have unclaimed property, which might be money or family heirlooms, just waiting for them to claim,” said Rutherford.
The treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Division has $1.5 billion in cash, plus contents from Illinois bank safety deposit boxes that have been abandoned for at least five years. The Cash Dash program helps reunite owners with their unclaimed property. On average, the Cash Dash program returns about $80 million dollars annually to owners. It’s common for people to lose track of their assets when they move or when loved ones pass away. Businesses and banks are required to turn over unclaimed accounts to the treasurer’s office. Some examples of unclaimed property currently held by the treasurer’s office include the following:
Money in inactive savings and checking accounts
Unpaid wages or commissions
Stocks, bonds and mutual funds
Money orders and bill overpayments
Paid-up life insurance policies
Safety deposit box contents.
By law, these lists of new unclaimed property owners with cash (more than $100), stocks, bonds, funds or other items from safety deposit boxes are required to be printed twice a year in one newspaper of general circulation in each Illinois county. These publications follow two annual reporting cycles. The first reporting deadline is May 1 of each year, and the second deadline is November 1. All names that match the publication criteria and are received by May 1 must be published by November 1. Then, all names received in the November 1 period must be published by May 1. The claimants will not know the specific type of property based on the published lists in newspapers. “If you see your name on the list of new unclaimed property owners in your local newspaper, you can go to the Illinois treasurer’s website or contact the office to get information about starting a claim on the unclaimed property we’re holding for you,” said Rutherford. However, these soon-to-be published newspaper lists will only contain names of unclaimed property owners who have just been added to the state database in recent months; it will not list the entire database of unclaimed property owners.
To get more details on the unclaimed property the treasurer’s office may be holding for you, or to find out if you have unclaimed property through Cash Dash, you can visit the treasurer’s website www.treasurer.il.gov and follow the Cash Dash link. The website is updated weekly to reflect new properties remitted to the office. Additionally, our Cash Dash teams conduct regular outreach across the state and send direct mail to new single-owner claimants over $100. You can contact the Unclaimed Property Division by calling 217-785-6998 or emailing info@cashdash.net.
The lists of new unclaimed property owners will be published in the following counties/newspapers on the following dates (listed in alphabetical order by county):
August 14, 2011: Alexander/Cairo Citizen, Bond/The Greenville Advocate, Boone/Belvidere Daily Republican, Bureau/Bureau County Republican, Calhoun/Calhoun News-Herald, Carroll/Savanna Times-Journal, Clay/The Clay County Advocate Press, Clinton/The Morning Sentinel, Crawford/Robinson Daily News, DeKalb/Daily Chronicle, Edwards/Prairie Post, Effingham/Effingham Daily News, Fayette/The Leader Union, Franklin/Benton Evening News, Gallatin/Gallatin Democrat, Grundy/Morris Daily Herald, Hamilton/McLeansboro Times-Leader, Hardin/Hardin County Independent, Henry/Star Courier, Jackson/The Southern Illinoisan, Jasper/Newton Press Mentor, Jefferson/Mount Vernon Register-News, Jersey/Telegraph Quad Edition, Jo Daviess/The Scoop Today, Johnson/The Vienna Times, Kankakee/The Daily Journal, LaSalle/The Times (8/15), Lawrence/Daily Record, Lee/The Telegraph, Madison/Alton Telegraph, Marion/Morning Sentinel, Massac/Metropolis Planet, Mercer/Aledo Times Record, Monroe/Republic Times, Ogle/Ogle County Life, Perry/DuQuoin Evening Call, Pope/Herald Enterprise, Pulaski/Mondays Pub, Putnam/Putnam County Record, Randolph/County Journal, Richland/Olney Daily Mail, Rock Island/Moline Dispatch, Saint Clair/Belleville News Democrat, Saline/The Daily Register, Stephenson/Shoppers Guide and The Journal Standard, Union/Gazette-Democrat, Wabash/Prairie Post, Washington/Morning Sentinel, Wayne/Wayne County Press, White/Carmi Times, Whiteside/Dixon Telegraph, Williamson/The Daily Republican, Winnebago/Rockford Register Star
August 21, 2011: Adams/Quincy Herald Whig, Brown/Brown County Democrat Message, Cass/Cass County Star Gazette, Champaign/The News-Gazette, Christian/The Breeze-Courier, Clark/Casey Reporter, Coles/Journal Gazette and Times Courier, Cumberland/Greenup Press, Dewitt/Clinton Daily Journal, Douglas/The News-Gazette, Edgar/Paris Beacon-News, Ford/Gibson City Courier, Fulton/Canton Daily Ledger, Greene/Greene Prairie Press, Hancock/Hancock County Journal-Pilot, Henderson/Oquawa Current, Iroquois/Watseka Times-Republic, Knox/Register Mail, Livingston/Pontiac Daily Leader, Logan/Lincoln Courier, Macon/Herald-Review, Macoupin/Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat, Marshall/Henry News Republican, Mason/Mason County Democrat, McDonough/The McDonough County Voice, McLean/The Pantagraph, Menard/Petersburg Observer, Montgomery/Journal News, Morgan/The Jacksonville Journal Courier, Moultrie/The Tri-County Journal, Peoria/Peoria Journal Star, Piatt/Piatt County Journal-Republican, Pike/Pike County Express, Sangamon/The State Journal-Register, Schuyler/The Rushville Times, Scott/Scott County Times, Shelby/Shelbyville Daily Union, Stark/ Prairie Shopper, Tazewell/Peoria Journal Star, Vermilion/The Commercial-News, Warren/Daily Review Atlas, Woodford/Woodford County Journal
