New Features on Illinois’ ICash Website Make It Even Easier for People to Find Their Unclaimed Property

SPRINGFIELD – People checking for unclaimed property on the ICash website can now ask questions of a chatbot named Abe, and they can alert friends or relatives who do not know they have unclaimed property, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs announced.

National Unclaimed Property Day was on Feb. 1. Frerichs is highlighted the two recent ICash website improvements, which make it simpler than ever for people to discover and collect unclaimed property. The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators launched the Unclaimed Property Day initiative three years ago to raise awareness of unclaimed property and help reunite Americans with their lost assets.

One of Frerichs’ responsibilities as state treasurer is to safeguard unclaimed property that is reported to his office. The ICash website (www.illinoistreasurer.gov/ ICASH) is a searchable database where people can check for unclaimed property.

“Many people work, go to school, or fulfill other responsibilities during typical business hours. As a result, those hours are not a convenient time for them to visit the ICash website or ask questions about unclaimed property,” Frerichs said. “Now, thanks to Abe the chatbot, anyone who visits ICash during off-hours can ask basic questions and get helpful responses.”

Illinois’ unclaimed property program — also known as ICash — is one of the state’s oldest consumer protection initiatives. In Illinois, the state treasurer is tasked with safeguarding unclaimed property, such as the contents of overlooked safe deposit boxes, unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts and unused rebate cards. Illinois holds more than $3.5 billion in unclaimed property.

Since 2015, Frerichs’ office has returned more than $1.6 billion in unclaimed property, a record setting amount since the program was established in 1961.

Political Affairs

FOSTER, DURBIN, DUCKWORTH INTRODUCE RESOLUTION TO NAME FERMILAB RESEARCH CENTER AFTER RENOWNED PHYSICIST DR. HELEN EDWARDS

Representatives Bill Foster (D-IL-11) and Lauren Underwood (DIL-14), and Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced that they introduced a bicameral resolution to rename Fermilab’s Integrated Engineering Research Center (IERC) after the late Dr. Helen Edwards, who worked at Fermilab as a particle physicist for 40 years. The IERC will be home to new office and lab space that will host an intersection of scientific disciplines.

“Over its history, Fermilab’s success has been built by the hard work of committed scientists. Helen Edwards was a scientific and technical leader of Fermilab from its earliest days, and she was a dear friend. Helen was also deeply committed to the accelerator research and engineering that will be carried out in the Integrated Engineering Research Center, and it is altogether fitting that it bears her name. I’m proud to be continuing this effort in the U.S. House to honor her memory,” said Foster.

“Dr. Helen Edwards was an extraordinary scientist who dedicated 40 years of her life to deepening our understanding of particle physics. Her pioneering work on the Tevatron earned her well-deserved national recognition and provided the foundation for the advanced particle physics research conducted by Fermilab scientists today,” said Durbin. “I cannot think of a worthier namesake for Fermilab’s new IERC than Dr. Helen Edwards.”

“Illinois’s own Fermilab is a crown jewel of American innovation at the forefront of cutting-edge science,” Duckworth said. “For years, hundreds of scientists and engineers at Fermilab have dedicated their expertise to scientific discovery and answering some of the world’s most complicated questions, including the late and brilliant Dr. Helen Edwards. Not only is renaming the Integrated Engineering Research Center after her well-deserved, I think it tells generations of girls interested in science that they belong at the table. I’m proud to help reintroduce this resolution with Senator Durbin.”

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Through the Friends and Family “share” feature on ICash, anyone can help the treasurer’s office connect with individuals whose names appear in the unclaimed property database. Whenever visitors to the ICash website come across the name of someone they know, they can select the “share” icon and provide the email address of their friend or relative. Frerichs’ office then will notify the individual by sending an email that mentions the unclaimed property, along with the name of the friend or relative who spotted it. Then, that individual can start the process of retrieving the property.

“The share function on ICash serves as an additional tool to help our office return unclaimed property,” Frerichs said. “Many people have no idea that they have unclaimed property waiting for them, so we are glad that friends and relatives now can lend a hand in telling them.”

“Abe,” the automated chatbot, is available to anyone visiting the ICash website during and outside of normal business hours. Capable of responding in English or Spanish, Abe provides an interactive way for people to obtain information when they ask short, simple questions about unclaimed property.

The state treasurer is legally required to return the property to the rightful owners no matter how long it takes.

Unclaimed property is reported to the treasurer’s office twice each year, so people are encouraged to check the database every six months. An estimated one-in-four adults in Illinois who search ICash find unclaimed property, and the average claim is $1,000.

To find out if you have unclaimed property, visit www. illinoistreasurer.gov/ICASH.

As Illinois State Treasurer, Michael Frerichs (FRAIR’-iks) is the state’s Chief Investment and Banking Officer and actively manages approximately $52 billion. The portfolio includes $26 billion in state funds, $17 billion in retirement and college savings plans and $9 billion on behalf of local and state governments. Frerichs’ office protects consumers by safeguarding more than $3.5 billion in unclaimed property, encouraging savings plans for college or trade school, increasing financial education among all ages, assisting people with disabilities to save without losing government benefits, and removing barriers to a secure retirement. The Treasurer’s Office predates Illinois incorporation in 1818. Voters in 1848 chose to make it an elected office.

“Helen Edwards was an inspiring and passionate scientist who was dedicated and instrumental to the development of the Tevatron. I am pleased we can honor her by naming the Integrated Engineering Research Center after someone who embodied the spirit of Fermilab,” said Dr. Lia Merminga, Director of Fermilab.

Dr. Edwards was a particle physicist best known for overseeing the design, construction, commissioning, and operation of the Tevatron, a machine that for 25 years served as the most powerful particle collider in the world. The Tevatron was used to find two of three fundamental particles discovered at Fermilab – the top quark in 1995 and the tau neutrino in 2000.

Dr. Edwards’ work on the Tevatron earned her a MacArthur Genius Grant in 1988 and the National Medal of Technology in 1989. The Tevatron remained in use until 2011 when Fermilab moved to new accelerator projects like the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility, which relies heavily on the foundations built by Dr. Edwards. Dr. Edwards passed away in 2016.

HUNTER CELEBRATES $1.8 MILLION IN PRE-APPRENTICESHIP INVESTMENTS

CHICAGO – Several pre-apprenticeship programs in the 3rd District received over $1.8 million in combined investments thanks to the support of State Senator Mattie Hunter.

“I am pleased to see these pre-apprenticeship programs have received the funding they need to further provide training and support services for participants,” said Hunter (D-Chicago). “These investments will pave the way to good-paying jobs for historically underrepresented populations.”

The Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship was created to promote diversity, inclusion and use of apprentices in state-funded capital projects. Comprehensive pre-apprenticeship programs help participants gain admission to apprenticeship programs, which provide a greater opportunity to obtain employment in the construction trades and secure long-term employment.

A total of $13 million awarded in the program’s second year will expand access to the program across the state and serve up to 1,400 pre-apprentices — a 40% increase from the program’s inaugural year. Organizations in the 3rd District receiving funds include: Children First Fund, $250,000; EDDR Foundation-Chicago, $500,000; HIRE360, $555,000; and Project Hood Communities Development Corporation, $500,000.

“These programs are key to building a skilled labor force and will not only benefit our community but serve as an investment in our economy as well,” Hunter said. “People interested in the trades can take advantage of pre-apprenticeship opportunities to develop a marketable set of skills.”

Participants of the program attend tuition-free and receive a stipend and other supportive, barrier reduction services to help enter the construction industry. Upon completion of the program, pre-apprentices receive industry aligned certifications to prepare and qualify them to continue to a registered apprenticeship program in one of the trades.

Information on the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program can be found here.