Lake Zurich, Ill. – Nov. 16, 2011 – Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford, Mayor Suzanne Branding and Police Chief Patrick Finlon attended a Cash Dash event in Lake Zurich at the Village Hall on Wednesday, to help reunite people with their unclaimed money and property. In total, 23 percent of individuals who initiated searches at the event were successful in locating cash or valuables that belonged to them or a loved one.
The Illinois State Treasurer's Office has had a successful year so far. According to published statements by the office, due to increased marketing efforts, between January to September 2011, the office has returned $12 million more than during the same time period in 2010; an increase of 20 percent.
“More people are doing these unclaimed property searches than ever before. It’s exciting to me because I want to see these valuable assets returned,” said Rutherford. “I also hope everyone makes an attempt to review our online database at http://www.treasurer.state.il.gov annually so they don’t miss out on money or valuable assets the state is holding for them.”
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.
To find out if you have unclaimed property through Cash Dash, you can visit the treasurer’s website at http://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, place twice-annual inserts in major newspapers and send direct mail to new single-owner claimants with property worth more than $100. You can contact the Unclaimed Property Division by calling 217-785-6998 or emailing info@cashdash.net.
