State Treasurer launches I-Cash program, adds 780,000 names to unclaimed property database

Online Staff Report

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford (R) announced July 13 that the state’s Cash Dash unclaimed property program has a new name, I-Cash, and has added 780,000 new names to the public web database.

The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office is making this effort to connect even more Illinois residents with their cash and assets.

I-Cash, part of the Illinois State Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Division, connects state residents with their unclaimed property. The program was established with the goal of helping Illinois residents through the process of reclaiming money or assets.

It’s common for people to lose track of their assets when they move or when loved ones pass away, and businesses and banks are required to turn over unclaimed accounts to the treasurer’s office.

With the new I-Cash program, Rutherford and his staff encourage residents to “discover what’s yours” by visiting the new I-Cash website and searching the state’s database to see if they have an asset waiting for them.

On the new website, consumers can also watch a video and read about other state residents who have searched for, discovered and received unclaimed property.

“Our goal through this program re-branding is to raise awareness and reunite even more Illinois residents with their unclaimed assets,” Rutherford said. “The chances are even greater now that you, or someone you know, will discover cash or assets in the database with the recent addition of 780,000 names. Illinois residents have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by searching the I-Cash website.”

The 780,000 new names were recently added to the database from records prior to 1992, a time period before a computer system upgrade streamlined the database’s maintenance.

One in eight Illinois residents has an asset to be claimed through I-Cash. The state has $1.5 billion in cash, plus contents from Illinois safe deposit boxes, which need to be returned to Illinois residents. Most assets are transferred to the state after they’ve been inactive for at least five years.

During Rutherford’s first year in office, the program marked the first time in history that the treasurer’s office returned more than $100 million to the people who owned assets. The total for 2011 was $101,679,655, a 23 percent increase over the previous year.

Prior to Rutherford’s leadership, the I-Cash program returned about $80 million annually to owners.

Some examples of unclaimed property currently held by the treasurer’s office include the following:

• Money from inactive savings and checking accounts;

• Unpaid wages or commissions;

• Stocks, bonds and mutual funds;

• Money orders and bill overpayments;

• Paid-up life insurance policies; and

• Safe deposit box contents.

To find out if you have unclaimed property through I-Cash, visit www.icash.illinois.gov.

The website is updated weekly to reflect new properties remitted to the office.

Contact the Unclaimed Property Division by calling (217) 785-6998 or e-mailing info@icash.illinois.gov.

Posted July 13, 2012

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