Illinois Treasurer’s Office returns record-breaking amount of money during last fiscal year

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — The Illinois Treasurer’s Office is celebrating a record-breaking year in its efforts to return money to its rightful owners across the state.

In a news release, Treasurer Michael Frerichs said his office returned almost $309 million to 312,000 residents, businesses and organizations through the I-CASH program. The money came from overlooked safe deposit boxes, unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts and unused rebate cards.

The $309 million retuned during Fiscal Year 2025 beat out the previous record of $301 million that was set the previous fiscal year.

“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.”

Part of the record-breaking total came from the life insurance policy of a late woman from Lake County, who named Orphans of the Storm Animal Shelter in Riverwoods as the beneficiary of her policy. Frerichs recently presented the shelter with a check of more than $200,000.

“We are deeply grateful for this generous gift and for Treasurer Frerichs’ leadership in making sure it reached us,” said Michelle Shields, Volunteer President of the Board of Directors at Orphans of the Storm. “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.”

The Illinois Treasurer’s Office is legally required to return unclaimed property to its owners or their heirs, no matter how long it takes. Frerichs recommended that people check the I-CASH website at least twice a year to see if they have money waiting for them.

Since taking office, Frerichs has returned more than $2.3 billion in missing money, and the number of claims per year has risen from 60,000 to 300,000.