This summer will bring $45 million in cash to a record-breaking 600,000 people who will receive money they didn’t even know they had from the state’s missing money program, and the only thing they must do is cash the check, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said on Wednesday. The checks are part of the latest round of the Enhanced Money Match program – which takes the “claim” out of unclaimed property. Treasurer Frerichs’ office helps get the check in the mail by leveraging technology to return money to individuals, through I-CASH, the state’s unclaimed property initiative. Most of the matched claims in this Enhanced Money Match round equal $50 or less, though some people can have multiple claims and their checks will amount to much more. The volume of “claim-less” checks is unprecedented. Frerichs’ office founded the Enhanced Money Match program in 2018 and has since returned more than $130 million to more than 870,000 people. This summer’s total of nearly 600,000 checks makes it the largest Money Match ever performed in the nation. Frerichs’ office began mailing notification letters at the end of June. The checks soon follow and will hit mailboxes all summer long. The state treasurer is legally required to return missing money to its owners or heirs, no matter how long it takes. To see if you have missing money, check the online database at www.illinoistreasurer.gov/ICASH.