Learning From the Past and Reaching New Heights
My sophomore year, I was too scrawny to play high school football and too young to drive to the game against one of our biggest rivals. So, I rode the fan bus.
A few hours later, we had beaten our rivals and we wanted everyone to know. As we pulled through the parking lot, our cheerleaders chanted, “We are better than you! Say, we are better than you!”
Our rivals, gathered at the parking lot exit, didn’t take it well.
They threw trash at our bus. Then drinks went flying. I remember looking at the girl sitting next to me, telling her everything was going to be OK, turning back to the window, and hearing a loud crash.
Someone had thrown a rock that shattered the window and hit me square in the mouth. I didn’t think I was hurt that badly until I turned back to the girl and she screamed.
My mouth was covered in blood, and eventually I went to the hospital in an ambulance. That night I went home with Mom and Dad, sporting several stitches I hadn’t brought to the game.
Getting ready for my sophomore year homecoming dance, a couple weeks before the bus incident.
The next day, I went to my cross-country meet. At the race, I realized something else was wrong. I couldn’t open my left eye without pain, and it only hurt a little less when I kept it closed.
I took my second trip to the hospital in 24 hours. Turns out that some of the shattered glass got in my eye, and when I rubbed it out, I scratched my cornea. This time, I went home with Mom and Dad sporting an eye patch.
I was mortified to return to class, but the story had spread, and I was greeted as a hero warrior who took a rock in the face from our bitter enemy on behalf of our school.
I would trade all of that brief glory for the opportunity to travel back in time and counsel our cheerleaders to show a little more humility in victory.
Mom raised me to be humble. I think most Midwesterners are raised that way. That game and that rock further solidified in my mind that we should not brag over our defeated opponents. We should not belittle those who are down.
That said, I would like to brag just a little about some good news we have in the State Treasurer’s Office. We are about to surpass $2.5 billion in missing money returned to Illinois residents, businesses, and nonprofits. To put this into context, my two predecessors combined returned about $850 million.
I’m not declaring victory just yet though — we have more unclaimed property to get back to you. It never stops coming in, so there’s always work to do. Forgotten bank accounts, uncashed rebate checks, unclaimed life insurance policies, and stuff in safe deposit boxes arrive at our office twice a year.
Mom also raised me to share credit. We accomplish very little in life by ourselves, and there are other people to credit for this missing money success.
We have a hard-working, creative team that is always looking for ways to improve the ICash program.
We have friends in the General Assembly who help us return money by inviting us to their public events and by making calls to track down owners. Lawmakers also have approved changes to make it easier for us to return money. We could not have implemented Fast Track, e-claiming, and our Money Match programs without their support.
We have set numerous records with unclaimed property under my watch, but don’t intend to rest on our laurels. We are celebrating today and then getting back to work tomorrow to shoot for $3 billion.
If you would like us to celebrate that milestone sooner rather than later, please visit our website and see if we have money that belongs to you. Then see if we have money that belongs to your family members. Then check for your friends. Check for your business or any nonprofits that you support. We still have more than $5 billion that we would like to return.
Checking for missing money may not be as much fun as your team beating their biggest rival, but it is probably more financially rewarding, and definitely less painful than getting hit by a rock.
Sincerely,
Michael
A Sad Goodbye to the Penny
A bit of disappointing news: The U.S. Mint stopped making the Lincoln penny last Wednesday. Abraham Lincoln always has been one of my heroes who fought relentlessly to preserve the Union. It was a sad day for me to see the end of production of the coin that honors him.
Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, offered his thoughts on the penny’s future when I asked him about it last year. Watch the video to see his take on the Lincoln penny.
Bid on Coins, Currency, Jewelry and More
If you or someone you know is fascinated with collectible coins, silver bars, or unique pocket watches and jewelry, then our ICash online auction is the perfect place to explore!
The ICash online auction, which runs November 21-30, is convenient and a great opportunity to browse through treasures. From the comfort of your home, you can find holiday gifts and maybe even something perfect for that hard-to-shop-for friend or relative.
A silver bar, a vintage Mickey Mouse watch, and collectible coins are a few of the online auction items highlighted in this video.
Here are a few of the items you’ll find in the online auction:
-
A 10-ounce Engelhard .999 fine silver bar
-
A 1907 “Wood Chopper” $5 bill and a 1914 $20 bill
-
A 14-karat yellow gold pendant with a small diamond
-
19 Morgan silver dollars from the years 1880 to 1921
-
A 1925 half-dollar coin commemorating California’s diamond jubilee
-
Miscellaneous costume jewelry, including a vintage Mickey Mouse wrist watch
-
Various pins, cameos, rings, necklaces and bracelets
The Treasurer’s Office is the custodian of unclaimed property, including lost bank accounts, insurance policy proceeds, unpaid rebate cards, and the contents of safe deposit boxes. The auction items come to us from abandoned bank safe deposit boxes, and they generally go unclaimed for about 10 years before we need to make room for additional items that arrive. If the owners haven’t come forward by then, we auction the items. If the owners or their heirs come forward later, they will receive every penny their item sold for at auction.
Prospective bidders first must sign up on HiBid and create an account. There are a couple of ways to do this. One is to go to hibid.com/ and click on “Create Account” and fill in your information. Another is to go to the catalog, scroll down, and click on “Register to Bid.” For questions, call 217.557.8567.