By: Ashmar Mandou

According to Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs, there is currently $5 billion in unclaimed funds across Illinois with $3.6 billion specifically in Cook County that have yet to be claimed. With the help of the I-CASH program, Treasurer Frerichs is looking to get the funds back into the rightful hands of Illinois residents. Through the Treasurer’s missing money program, or ICASH, his office returned a record $301 million to 321,558 Illinois residents during fiscal year 2024, which ended June 30. Recently, Treasurer Frerichs spoke to Lawndale Bilingual News about the I-CASH program and how someone can search if they have unclaimed property.

Lawndale Bilingual News: How does it feel to be able to give money back to Illinoisans?
State Treasurer Michael Frerichs: I have been doing this job for ten years, we have returned over $2 billion and we have fought in great lengths for more money that belongs to people in our State. We have fought with insurance companies, bank institutions, and other corporations to get money that belongs to Illinois citizens back into their hands. We encourage people to go to our website to see if they have money that belongs to them.

Lawndale Bilingual News: What is the I-Cash program and how does it work?
Treasurer Frerichs: So I-CASH is a consumer protection department. We fight every day to get money back from a bank institution, insurance company, or a corporation and get it into the rightful owner’s hands. So it can be something like, the last paycheck you never collected, maybe you put a deposit with a power company or water company, maybe you moved and didn’t get your money back. Maybe there’s a rebate or refund that was sent to you, but maybe it was sent to the wrong address. Or maybe someone bought a life insurance policy and made you the beneficiary, just because you didn’t cash that check or claim that life insurance policy, doesn’t mean it gets to be held by that company. It belongs to people here in the State and we fight every day to get the money back into their hands.

Lawndale Bilingual News: What information is needed for someone to claim their funds?
Treasurer Frerichs: It depends on whether it’s your money or if it belongs to a deceased relative. For you, you need to have proof that it is you. So you need to have proof of your name, your social security, and proof you once lived in that address. We are able to do some smaller claim cases. We can do a LexisNexis search to proof you once lived there, but we do need to know your name and social security number which is unique to you.

Lawndale Bilingual News: For those who claim their funds, does it come at a cost?
Treasurer Frerichs: No, if anyone tries to charge you a fee or commission that is a scam. We do this for free. It is part of our job, and it’s a public service and something I take very seriously. We do this because it’s my job, and because it’s fun to give people money. And because we know when we put that money back into the right people’s hands they are much more likely to spend that money on a local business, or take their family out to a local restaurant. Getting that money circulating through our economy does more good for the State than it does sitting in a bank vault in Springfield.

Lawndale Bilingual New: For the Spanish speaking community who may find the process challenging, is the website tailored to their needs?
Treasurer Frerichs: Yes, we have rebuilt the website from the ground up in Spanish. You can go to our website and in the upper right hand corner, there is EN, ES button. Because we know if they read it in their language, they are much more likely to claim their money.

If you would like to learn more about the I-CASH program or discover if money is owed to you, visit www.icash.illinoistreasurer.gov.