Public Act 93-0531
SB1095 Enrolled LRB093 07390 LCB 11141 b
AN ACT concerning unclaimed property.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property
Act is amended by changing Sections 11, 12, 18, and 20 as
follows:
(765 ILCS 1025/11) (from Ch. 141, par. 111)
Sec. 11. Report of holder. (a) Except as otherwise
provided in subsection (c) of Section 4, every person holding
funds or other property, tangible or intangible, presumed
abandoned under this Act shall report and remit all abandoned
property specified in the report to the State Treasurer with
respect to the property as hereinafter provided. The State
Treasurer may exempt any businesses from the reporting
requirement if he deems such businesses unlikely to be
holding unclaimed property.
(b) The information shall be obtained in one or more
reports as required by the State Treasurer. The information
shall be verified and shall include:
(1) The name, social security or federal tax
identification number, if known, and last known address,
including zip code, of each person appearing from the
records of the holder to be the owner of any property of
the value of $25 or more presumed abandoned under this
Act;
(2) In case of unclaimed funds of life insurance
corporations the full name of the insured and any
beneficiary or annuitant and the last known address
according to the life insurance corporation's records;
(3) The date when the property became payable,
demandable, or returnable, and the date of the last
transaction with the owner with respect to the property;
and
(4) Other information which the State Treasurer
prescribes by rule as necessary for the administration of
this Act.
(c) If the person holding property presumed abandoned is
a successor to other persons who previously held the property
for the owner, or if the holder has changed his name while
holding the property, he shall file with his report all prior
known names and addresses of each holder of the property.
(d) The report and remittance of the property specified
in the report shall be filed by banking organizations,
financial organizations, insurance companies other than life
insurance corporations, and governmental entities before
November 1 of each year as of June 30 next preceding. The
report and remittance of the property specified in the report
shall be filed by business associations, utilities, and life
insurance corporations before May 1 of each year as of
December 31 next preceding. The Director may postpone the
reporting date upon written request by any person required to
file a report.
(d-5) Notwithstanding the foregoing, currency exchanges
shall be required to report and remit property specified in
the report within 30 days after the conclusion of its annual
examination by the Department of Financial Institutions. As
part of the examination of a currency exchange, the
Department of Financial Institutions shall instruct the
currency exchange to submit a complete unclaimed property
report using the State Treasurer's formatted diskette
reporting program or an alternative reporting format approved
by the State Treasurer. The Department of Financial
Institutions shall provide the State Treasurer with an
accounting of the money orders located in the course of the
annual examination including, where available, the amount of
service fees deducted and the date of the conclusion of the
examination.
(e) Before filing the annual report, the holder of
property presumed abandoned under this Act shall communicate
with the owner at his last known address if any address is
known to the holder, setting forth the provisions hereof
necessary to occur in order to prevent abandonment from being
presumed. If the holder has not communicated with the owner
at his last known address at least 120 days before the
deadline for filing the annual report, the holder shall mail,
at least 60 days before that deadline, a letter by first
class mail to the owner at his last known address unless any
address is shown to be inaccurate, setting forth the
provisions hereof necessary to prevent abandonment from being
presumed.
(f) Verification, if made by a partnership, shall be
executed by a partner; if made by an unincorporated
association or private corporation, by an officer; and if
made by a public corporation, by its chief fiscal officer.
(g) Any person who has possession of property which he
has reason to believe will be reportable in the future as
unclaimed property, may report and deliver it prior to the
date required for such reporting in accordance with this
Section and is then relieved of responsibility as provided in
Section 14.
(h) (1) Records pertaining to presumptively abandoned
property held by a trust division or trust department or by a
trust company, or affiliate of any of the foregoing that
provides nondealer corporate custodial services for
securities or securities transactions, organized under the
laws of this or another state or the United States shall be
retained until the property is delivered to the State
Treasurer.
As of January 1, 1998, this subdivision (h)(1) shall not
be applicable unless the Department of Financial Institutions
has commenced, but not finalized, an examination of the
holder as of that date and the property is included in a
final examination report for the period covered by the
examination.
(2) In the case of all other holders commencing on the
effective date of this amendatory Act of 1993, property
records for the period required for presumptive abandonment
plus the 9 years immediately preceding the beginning of that
period shall be retained for 5 years after the property was
reportable.
(i) The State Treasurer may promulgate rules
establishing the format and media to be used by a holder in
submitting reports required under this Act.
(j) Other than the Notice to Owners required by Section
12 and other discretionary means employed by the State
Treasurer for notifying owners of the existence of abandoned
property, the State Treasurer shall not disclose any
information provided in reports filed with the State
Treasurer or any information obtained in the course of an
examination by the State Treasurer to any person other than
governmental agencies for the purposes of returning abandoned
property to its owners or to those individuals who appear to
be the owner of the property or otherwise have a valid claim
to the property, unless written consent from the person
entitled to the property is obtained by the State Treasurer.
(Source: P.A. 91-16, eff. 7-1-99; 92-271, eff. 8-7-01.)
(765 ILCS 1025/12) (from Ch. 141, par. 112)
Sec. 12. Notice to owners.
(a) For property reportable by May 1, as identified
Within 120 days from the filing of the annual report and
delivery of the abandoned property specified in the report as
required by Section 11, the State Treasurer shall cause
notice to be published once in an English language newspaper
of general circulation in the county in this State in which
is located the last known address of any person to be named
in the notice on or before November 1 of the same year. For
property reportable by November 1, as identified by Section
11, the State Treasurer shall cause notice to be published
once in an English language newspaper of general circulation
in the county in this State in which is located the last
known address of any person named in the notice on or before
May 1 of the next year. If no address is listed or if the
address is outside this State, the notice shall be published
in the county in which the holder of the abandoned property
has his principal place of business within this State.
However, if an out-of-state address is in a state that is not
a party to a reciprocal agreement with this State concerning
abandoned property, the notice may be published in the
Illinois Register.
(b) The published notice shall be entitled "Notice of
Names of Persons Appearing to be Owners of Abandoned
Property", and shall contain:
(1) The names in alphabetical order and last known
addresses, if any, of persons listed in the report and
entitled to notice within the county as hereinbefore
specified.
(2) A statement that information concerning the
amount or description of the property and the name and
address of the holder may be obtained by any persons
possessing an interest in the property by addressing an
inquiry to the State Treasurer.
(3) A statement that the abandoned property has
been placed in the custody of the State Treasurer to whom
all further claims must thereafter be directed.
(c) The State Treasurer is not required to publish in
such notice any item of less than $100 or any item for which
the address of the last known owner is in a state that has a
reciprocal agreement with this State concerning abandoned
property unless he deems such publication to be in the public
interest.
(Source: P.A. 90-167, eff. 7-23-97; 91-16, eff. 7-1-99.)
(765 ILCS 1025/18) (from Ch. 141, par. 118)
Sec. 18. Deposit of funds received under the Act.
(a) The State Treasurer shall retain all funds received
under this Act, including the proceeds from the sale of
abandoned property under Section 17, in a trust fund and
shall, on April 15 and October 15 of each year, deposit any
amount in the trust fund exceeding $2,500,000 into shall
forthwith be deposited in the State Pensions Fund. in the
state treasury, except that the State Treasurer shall retain
in a separate trust fund an amount not exceeding $2,500,000
from which He or she shall make prompt payment of claims he
or she duly allows as hereinafter provided for in this Act
for the trust fund. However, should any claim be allowed or
any refund ordered under the provisions of this Act, in
excess of $2,500,000, the State Treasurer shall increase the
amount of such separate trust fund to an amount necessary for
prompt payment of such claim in excess of $2,500,000 and make
prompt payment thereof. Before making the deposit the State
Treasurer shall record the name and last known address of
each person appearing from the holders' reports to be
entitled to the abandoned property. The record shall be
available for public inspection during at all reasonable
business hours.
(b) Before making any deposit to the credit of the State
Pensions Fund, the State Treasurer may deduct: (1) any costs
in connection with sale of abandoned property, (2) any costs
of mailing and publication in connection with any abandoned
property, and (3) any costs in connection with the
maintenance of records or disposition of claims made pursuant
to this Act. The State Treasurer shall semiannually file an
itemized report of all such expenses with the Legislative
Audit Commission.
(Source: P.A. 91-16, eff. 7-1-99.)
(765 ILCS 1025/20) (from Ch. 141, par. 120)
Sec. 20. Determination of claims.
(a) The State Treasurer shall consider any claim filed
under this Act and may, in his discretion, hold a hearing and
receive evidence concerning it. Such hearing shall be
conducted by the State Treasurer or by a hearing officer
designated by him. No hearings shall be held if the payment
of the claim is ordered by a court, if the claimant is under
court jurisdiction, or if the claim is paid under Article XXV
of the Probate Act of 1975. The State Treasurer or hearing
officer shall prepare a finding and a decision in writing on
each hearing, stating the substance of any evidence heard by
him, his findings of fact in respect thereto, and the reasons
for his decision. The State Treasurer shall review the
findings and decision of each hearing conducted by a hearing
officer and issue a final written decision. The final
decision shall be a public record. Any claim of an interest
in property that is filed pursuant to this Act shall be
considered and a finding and decision shall be issued by the
Office of the State Treasurer in a timely and expeditious
manner.
(b) If the claim is allowed, and after deducting an
amount not to exceed $20 to cover the cost of notice
publication and related clerical expenses, the State
Treasurer shall make payment forthwith.
(c) In order to carry out the purpose of this Act, no
person or company shall be entitled to a fee for discovering
presumptively abandoned property until it has been in the
custody of the Unclaimed Property Division of the Office of
the State Treasurer for at least 24 months. Fees for
discovering property that has been in the custody of that
division for more than 24 months shall be limited to not more
than 10% of the amount collected.
(d) A person or company attempting to collect a
contingent fee for discovering, on behalf of an owner,
presumptively abandoned property must be licensed as a
private detective pursuant to the Private Detective, Private
Alarm, Private Security, and Locksmith Act of 1993.
(e) This Section shall not apply to the fees of an
attorney at law duly appointed to practice in a state of the
United States who is employed by a claimant with regard to
probate matters on a contractual basis.
(Source: P.A. 91-16, eff. 7-1-99.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.