The Illinois state treasurer returned a more than $200,000 donation to an animal shelter in Lake County that was made by a now-deceased woman who named the shelter as her life insurance beneficiary.
Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said he has returned $303.8 million in missing money to nearly 312,000 residents, businesses and organizations through the I-CASH program during this fiscal year.
Frerichs marked the record-breaking total by presenting a check for $200,829 to the Orphans of the Storm animal shelter in Riverwoods last week.
The money came from a late Lake County woman who named the shelter as a beneficiary of her life insurance policy.
“We made common-sense changes to I-CASH to return more money to more folks, and we are proud to set records,” Frerichs said.
“But we’re even more proud of helping people. One of my biggest fights was to take on insurance companies to make sure life insurance benefits rightfully end up with the people and organizations they were left to,” he said.
The gift represents a “meaningful and impactful” contribution to Orphans of the Storm and comes as the shelter approaches its 100th anniversary while planning for the next century of animal care.
The shelter aims to renovate the facility, which currently cares for approximately 60 dogs and 65 cats.
Orphans of the Storm Volunteer President of the Board of Directors Michelle Shields said the shelter is “deeply grateful” for the generous gift and for Frerichs’ efforts in connecting the donation to them.
“For nearly a century, our shelter has been part of the fabric of this community. We have connected people and animals through love, care, and second chances. This support honors that legacy and helps us build toward a future where every animal has a safe place to land and a family to call their own,” Shields said.
The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office said they are tasked with safeguarding and returning unclaimed property, including the contents of overlooked safe deposit boxes, unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts and unused rebate cards.
The Illinois treasurer is legally required to return unclaimed property to its owner or heirs, no matter how long it takes.
The treasurer’s office said the record-setting $303.8 million in missing money returned this year broke last year’s mark, which was $301 million.
“It’s not just people we return money to, but businesses and organizations as well,” Frerichs said.
“We encourage business owners and nonprofit groups to check the I-CASH site to see if we have money waiting for them to claim,” he said.
The office said its “Enhanced Money Match” program is a key driver in the success, taking the “claim” out of unclaimed property by automatically returning money without the need to file a claim after some information is electronically verified.
600,000 people will receive $45 million in cash this summer that they did not know they had coming.
Most of the matched claims in the Enhanced Money Match round equal $50 or less, though some people can have multiple claims and their checks will amount to more.
The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office said people are recommended to check at least twice each year at icash.illinoistreasurer.gov to see if missing money is waiting for them.