***For more information, below is the email from Illinois Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs, including relevant links, recently sent to Illinois residents regarding the declaration of February 1 as National Unclaimed Property Day. Good Luck!!!
Treasurer's Note:
In a couple of days, we will mark National Unclaimed Property Day. It may not be as exciting as New Year’s Eve, as inspiring as Memorial Day, or as romantic as Valentine’s Day, but it might be more financially rewarding for you.
Every Feb. 1, we encourage people to check to see if we are holding money that has gone missing. You can check our I-CASH website. If you have lived in other states, you can search nationwide by visiting https://missingmoney.com, the official site of the National Association of State Treasurers.
You may think that you keep track of your money, but maybe your money never got to you. Every year, we send our auditors to companies and financial institutions. And every year we find that some businesses are holding on to money that doesn’t belong to them. We have found literally billions of dollars that belongs to Illinois residents. And we want to reunite people with their money.
That’s why I’ve worked to modernize how we do that.
Last spring, I announced some good news: that during my time as Illinois State Treasurer, we have returned more than $2 billion in unclaimed property. That was a record-breaking amount, and we continue to add to that record. State Senators Robert Martwick and Mary Edly-Allen joined me in noting the historic achievement.
Many people can now claim their funds by simply filling out an online form. About 55% of the time, our computer system determines that it is highly likely to be you claiming your money. In those cases, you don’t need to submit anything else, and our staff doesn’t have to review your data. Since we started the Fast Track program in 2018, more than 760,000 people have been reunited with over $107 million.
If you have a complicated claim, we have tried to make it easier. Now you can snap a photo of documents and simply upload them to our website. No more paying to make a photocopy and mailing it to our office. We are continuing to streamline claims, and for constituents with straightforward claims they can expect less red tape.
Even with these changes, many people were not claiming their money. So, we went to the General Assembly and changed the law.
Now we have the legal authority to compare our records with other state databases, information that already has been gathered. When we find and verify a match, we can simply mail a check to people we have found.
This Money Match program has now returned more than $102 million to nearly 423,000 people in Illinois.
Today around 77% of people get their money through FastTrack or Money Match.
These changes have made a difference.
When I came into office in 2015, the Treasurer’s Office was returning around $60 million per year to about 60,000 people.
Last fiscal year, we returned $301 million to 321,558 Illinois residents.
Now, some claims are still going to be complicated. When large amounts are at stake, or when someone is claiming to be an heir or the owner of a dissolved business, we need to make extra sure we are paying the right person.
Overall, our changes have meant a lot more money going back into the pockets of Illinoisans. We are not talking about large amounts per person — the median amount is around $75. That means those getting money are much more likely to spend their “found” funds at a local business or take someone out to eat at a local restaurant. Getting that money moving through our local businesses does a lot more good for our state than it does sitting with a large out-of-state corporation.
I hope you check our website on National Unclaimed Property Day but if you miss it, it is free to check 365 days a year. And remember the odds of “winning” are much higher than for Mega Millions or Powerball. We find that about 1 in 4 adults who search the website find something that belongs to them!
Sincerely,
Michael
Links to any third-party website do not constitute or imply an endorsement or referral. The Treasurer's Office is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of third-party websites. Copyright (C) 2025 Illinois State Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs. All rights reserved.