Rutherford Hopes To Find Unclaimed Property Owners At State Fair
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- The Illinois state treasurer wants to get rid of $1.5 billion in assets, and he hopes using the State Fair will move things along.
As WBBM Newsradio's Alex Degman reports, Treasurer Dan Rutherford says he will set up a booth every day at the State Fair, where people can find out if the state owes them money or valuables through Cash Dash.
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Rutherford says he is holding onto everything from baseball cards to stock certificates, and he hopes the people attending the fair will stop by to see if any of it is theirs.
"The State Fair is a high-traffic event. It is nice having staff there to help people look up their names, help them with paperwork, and we just want to make it as successful as possible," he said.
Rutherford says the state can't use any of the assets to pay its bills, because the money does not belong to the state.
He said about 10 percent of people at a recent Cash Dash event found out they have money coming to them.
From un-cashed paychecks and unclaimed tax refunds to property left behind in safe deposit boxes, previous estimates have indicated that more than 10 million people are owed some amount of cash or property sitting in state vaults.
