(Part 1 of 2)

In May of 2007, Illinois State Treasurer State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias stated that the state's "Cash Dash" abandoned asset program is holding almost 1.4 Billion dollars in Illinois unclaimed money. The only thing getting between the cash and its rightful owners is the knowledge that it's out there and the knowledge to track it down.

Sadly beyond just Illinois, state treasury departments across the United States keep on taking in more unclaimed property every year than they return to the rightful owners. Due to the fact that everyone believes in the old "if it's too good to be true" saying, the majority of people do not believe that there are truly tens of billions of dollars waiting to be claimed nationwide. Even for those few who have learned the truth about unclaimed cash, the best way to find these monies eludes them most of the time.

The Prairie is State is one of just a few states that is holding over 1 billion dollars on its own, which means if you are a resident of Illinois then you have even greater odds of locating a claim in your name, especially when you consider that the state has less than 13 million people and there are more than 10 million names on the state's Illinois list.

Although there are many more, Illinois names the following as the most common types of forgotten funds: abandoned savings and checking accounts, unpaid wages or commissions, stock, bonds, mutual funds, un-cashed dividends, customer deposits or overpayments, credit balances, refunds, money orders, travelers checks, paid-up life insurance policies, safe deposit box contents. People who have had or know someone who might have had one of these types of accounts at some point in the past is encouraged to search often.

(to be continued)

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Cash Dash has unclaimed money, assets for 23 Williamson County … – Marion Daily Republican
The state treasurer's office has initiated claims and inquiries for 23 Williamson County residents which could result in the return of more than #35,000 in unclaimed money and property. Claims and inquiries began June 23 during the Cash Dash event at …

It was tough going green (Corvallis Gazette-Times)
Even a strong Democratic majority couldn’t please environmental interests

Seattle police use web site to sell unclaimed items – Tacoma News Tribune
Seattle police and the King County sheriff's office are getting more money from unclaimed goods, now that they no longer hold their own auctions. Both rely on PropertyRoom.com, a Web site for selling items from the property rooms of 1,600 law …

$10,000 Found Alongside Hwy. 101 Unclaimed – CBS 13/CW31 Sacramento
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) ― Authorities are still looking for the rightful owner of $10,000 found alongside a Sonoma County highway. Sheriff's Capt. Matt McCaffrey said on June 5 an off-duty prison guard spotted some of the cash blowing along the …

$12 Million In Unclaimed Money Returned To South Carolinians (WSPA Spartanburg)
(Columbia, SC) The State Treasurer’s Office announced some good news today. For the last fiscal year, July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009, the State returned over $12 million in unclaimed property to its rightful owners.