(Part 1 of 2)

In May 2007, IL State Treasurer State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias announced that the state's "Cash Dash" program is holding nearly 1.4 Billion dollars in Illinois unclaimed money. The only thing getting between the cash and its true owners is the knowledge that it is out there waiting to be claimed and the knowledge to find it.

Sadly beyond just IL, state treasury departments across the nation continue to take in more unclaimed money annually than they give back to the citizens. Because 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 that can be claimed nationwide. Even for those few who have come to accept the truth about unclaimed cash, the best way to track these monies down eludes them in most cases.

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

(to be continued)

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$2.5M Hoosier jackpot goes unclaimed (Chicago Tribune)
The winning numbers from the unclaimed Aug. 19, 2009 Hoosier Lottery ticket is posted in the Meijer convenience store in Indianapolis today. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

$2.5 million Hoosier Lotto jackpot goes unclaimed (Fort Wayne News-Sentinel)
INDIANAPOLIS #8212; Hoosier lottery players have been digging through their trash, scouring their cars and bringing fistfuls of old tickets, some in shoeboxes, to an Indianapolis store, hoping they would find the winning #8212; but unclaimed #8212; $2.5 million jackpot ticket.

Fond du Lac woman gets more than $100,000 in unclaimed property – WKOW-TV.com
MADISON (WKOW) — A Fond du Lac woman is getting a surprise from the State Treasury. State Treasurer Dawn Marie Sass will be sending a check for $102,774.70 to a Fond du Lac resident who didn't know the state was holding her unclaimed property. The …

Out of luck: $2.5M Hoosier jackpot goes unclaimed (Channel 8 San Diego)
Hoosier lottery players have been digging through their trash, scouring their cars and bringing fistfuls of old tickets, some in shoeboxes, to an Indianapolis store, hoping they would find the winning – but unclaimed – $2.5…

$2.5M Hoosier lotto jackpot remains unclaimed (Boston Globe)
It's enough money to pay off a mortgage. A dozen mortgages, actually. Or invest, retire and live comfortably. You could even throw a crazy Hollywood-style party in the heartland with that kind of cash.