Does IL Owe You Money? How To Find Out

ILLINOIS — Money that’s rightfully yours could be sitting in government vaults but it’s up to you to claim those funds.

While the U.S. government lacks a central website to find unclaimed funds, it recommends starting the search by looking for unclaimed money in your state.

In Illinois, you can search for money owed to you through the state treasury website. Residents can enter their name or business name to check for unclaimed property. For claims that have already been filed, residents can check the status using the claim ID number.

Illinois also has a new "Money Match" program launched in the fall that will automatically will return lost money to Illinois residents without the usual need to gather paperwork or file a claim.

“The treasurer’s office has over $2 billion in lost money and unclaimed property,” Treasurer Michael Frerichs said, assuring residents who receive a check from his office that it's real. “This new matching process makes it even easier for us to return money to people here in Illinois so they can use it as they see fit.”

A record-breaking $180 million in forgotten cash and stock was returned to individuals, employers and non-profits over the past fiscal year, July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018, in Illinois. More than 116,000 claims were fulfilled — 49,000 of which were paperless - with an average value of $1,552. In each of these claims, the individual had to initiate the process. The new ‘Money Match’ is the exact opposite — the treasurer’s office will initiate the claim. No action is required by the owner.

More than 830,000 Illinois unclaimed property files were evaluated to identify the 63,000 "Money
Match" recipients.

To search for unclaimed money that may be lying in a different state’s treasury, click here.

If you don’t have money lying in the state treasury, the government also suggests checking for unclaimed funds from bank failures or unclaimed deposits from credit union closures. You could also check for unclaimed or undelivered tax refunds or a refund from an FHA-insured mortgage. Finally, you can check for unclaimed back wages, pension money or life insurance funds. Click here to find out how to search for these unclaimed funds.

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