Louise Bohannon got to wondering if she was owed any money after seeing an ad in September about unclaimed property held by the Illinois Treasurer's office.
Two weeks later, the 32-year-old Matteson resident received a check for nearly $500, the bulk of it an insurance reimbursement for a 2016 health care visit. She never got that reimbursement because the insurance company didn't know she had moved.
"I started telling everybody," Bohannon said. "I did it all online by myself. Everything was pretty smooth. ... I did it, and I got some money back."
Illinois is holding more than $5 billion worth of unclaimed property.
Since 1962, the treasurer has collected dormant bank accounts, uncashed rebate checks, forgotten-about safe deposit boxes and other abandoned property.
State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said that since he took office in 2015, over $2 billion worth of unclaimed property has been returned to residents.
Illinois tries to find the rightful owners through the state's Enhanced Money Match program, which crossmatches state data with the Treasurer's unclaimed property list. When a person's name and address match, the state sends a check. Nearly 140,000 people recently were sent checks totaling $13.2 million.
Residents can check for themselves rather than waiting for the state program to find a match.
Unclaimed property is cash or assets that belong to someone who doesn't currently have access to it. That can be anything from a final paycheck that went uncollected to a refund from an overpaid bill.
If no one claims the cash or assets, usually within three years, banks and businesses holding them are required to turn these funds or items over to the state.
"There should be attempts to notify people that unclaimed property is going to be turned over to the state unless they notify them that they want to keep it there," Frerichs said.
Illinois will hold onto the money until the owner or an heir claims it.
If a safe deposit box contains assets like collectibles, coins or stamps, Illinois may auction those off if they're unclaimed after five years with the state. Auction proceeds go to the owner when they successfully file a claim.
"We run out of physical space in our vaults," he said. "There are limits to how much physical property we can account for, but there's virtually no limits to the cash we can be in charge of."
Residents can go to icash.illinoistreasurer.gov to begin the claim process. If a resident has moved and thinks they may have unclaimed property in a state outside Illinois, they can go to missingmoney.com, which allows tracking of unclaimed property across the United States, except Hawaii.
Want to file a claim in person? Go to the state Treasurer's office in Chicago at 555 W. Monroe St. on the 14th floor or in Springfield at 1 E. Old State Capitol Plaza. Chief of Staff Allen Mayer suggested making an appointment.
Frerichs said a civic engagement team also works to help people claim unclaimed property at events across Illinois.
If using the office's online portal, residents will need to enter a last name, business name or a property ID already provided by the state.
When a resident finds unclaimed property that may be theirs, they're required to provide proof of their identity, including a Social Security number, and sign a claim form.
Once submitted, residents can track their claim's status using a state webpage.
Claim forms and the other required documents can also be submitted via email to [email protected] or mailed to the state treasurer at: P.O. Box 19495, Springfield, IL 62794-9495.
Claims for unclaimed property of less than $5,000 may qualify for the Fast Track program, which gets a check to residents within a few weeks, Frerichs said.
More documentation is typically required if you weren't the original or sole owner, or if the cash or assets are worth more than $5,000. If it's unclear who the heir of an unclaimed property is, lawyers might get involved in what could become a legal estate case.
Frerichs said these steps are critical to preventing fraud.
"This is all done, not in an effort to make your life difficult," he said, "but to make sure the right person gets the right money."