Rockford Sun

Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said $1 billion has been returned to Illinois residents from unclaimed property over the past five years.

According to a press release from the Office of Illinois State Treasurer, the state has never seen this much returned throughout its 58 years of existence. 

“Government needs to work smarter. The numbers show our improvements to the unclaimed property program created a faster, better and more efficient service

Unclaimed property means property or accounts that haven't seen activity in years. It's the state treasurer's job to protect unclaimed property and return it to its owners. 

When Frerichs came into office in 2015, the office was using a paper system for unclaimed property. He made changes toward technology, which helped make returning the $1 billion in unclaimed property easier to accomplish. To make these changes, bipartisan support also changed the law, which helped with I-Cash, or the streamlining unclaimed property process. 

“While $1 billion is a significant achievement that only could be obtained by working collaboratively with our staff and state lawmakers, it is the stories behind the unclaimed property that I find most memorable,” Frerichs said. 

One woman adopted two children after their family had died in a car accident. Several years later, this woman received thousands of dollars in unclaimed property from an unpaid life insurance policy. Another woman's life insurance policy gave $38,000 in unclaimed benefits to their church, Monument of Faith Evangelistic Church. 

It's stories like these that Frerichs finds memorable. 

There are approximately one in four people with unclaimed property in the state, with over $3.5 billion in the unclaimed property fund. To find out if you have unclaimed property, search for your name in the state's database state's database.