Illinois Lottery Winners Get Stiffed When State Checks Don’t Cash

January 5, 2012 6:31 PM

Illinois Lottery (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)

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CHICAGO (CBS) — Eighty-five Illinois Lottery winners last week probably thought they were lucky — until they tried to cash in their winnings, that is.

Their checks, totaling $159,000 in lottery winnings, were no good.

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Two days after Christmas, Maureen Furio of Lake Zurich bought an instant scratch-off ticket and won $1000. The next day, she got a check from the lottery.

“I deposited it the same day and went ahead and paid some extra Christmas bills,” Furio says. “And Jan. 3, it bounced.”

“Not bounced … returned,” says Mike Lang, spokesman for the Illinois Lottery. He says lottery officials failed to key in the required security verification on the checks issued on Dec. 28.

“We apologize for the inconvenience that these players have incurred,” Lang says.

Lang says Furio and the 84 other winners who tried to get their winnings but couldn’t can re-submit the checks. He says the state lottery will reimburse them for any bank fees.

Illinois Lottery Winners Get Stiffed When State Checks Dont Cash

tom sharp

Multiple Choice: which family does the idiot in charge of who messed this up belong to: A) Daley, B) Madigan, C) Cullerton, D) Burke?

Chicagoiscrooked

all of thee above lol
Micheal Savage

Do you see something common in those 4 names,they are all irishmen,that has to tell you something,besides the irish say obama is irish to,

James T

your an A$$
Sean Ryan

Hey Michael, You must be as much of an idiot as the Talk Show Host with the same name! There are no Irish people that think Obama is Irish. Do you have the same last name as that Host? Wiener, cause you sound like a Wiener!

non

I don’t think any of these people have anything to do with the lottery, nimrod

Phil Parks

Don’t “BET” on it!!!

Joe Stickney

first in the nation,where was the money spent on pensions?
James

All of the above

http://cbschicago.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/illinois-lottery-winners-get-stiffed-when-state-checks-dont-cash/ Illinois Lottery Winners Get Stiffed When State Checks Don’t Cash « CBS Chicago

[...] that is. Their checks, totaling $159,000 in lottery winnings, were no good. Two days after Christmas, Maureen Furio of Lake Zurich bought an instant scratch-off ticket and won $1000. The next day, she [...]
Barbara Dolan

Are you kidding me? This certainly isn’t the first time. I’m still trying to get reimbursed for a returned check on Dec. 15th plus bank fees. Even though I have called numerous times and have faxed them all the information they wanted, I have not received anything. Everytime I call they tell me “your check was sent in the mail today”. So, good luck to those 85 people…..your gonna need it.
Jose

This makes me giggle. I remember how serious people used to play Lotto when I worked at White Hen back in college. Now those people are going to be too afraid to play anymore, I’m sure. Why not just play dice on your front steps?

Willy

Ironically, dice on the steps would be illegal.

http://worldduh.com/2012/01/06/lottery-winner-stiffed-when-state-checks-dont-cash/ Lottery winner stiffed when state checks don’t cash « Bizarre World News

[...] IL (CBS) – Eighty-five Illinois Lottery winners last week probably thought they were lucky – [...]
Carole

Which goes to show how Illinois is full of nothing but crooks.. Where is all the money they get from the lottery? The trillions in escrow? More shady s*** to add to the rest of the garbage they pull.Their excuse is HOG WASH! Watch out or they’ll tax us on that!

John C

Where is all the money they get from the lottery?

They’ve spent it already, just like the Fed. government with social security. The state was counting on no winners. They were wrong. Just like homeowners who bought houses without money, income, or credit. They were counting on housing prices continuing to go up. They were wrong.

Sam

It’s going to Osama Bin Bidens election chest.

john

Let’s all try that for a State Income Tax payments and see what happens
SerfCityHereWeCome

And the recovery roars on, LOL! Way to go, Felonois– time to get Benny on the blower for another mountain of counterfeit c-notes hot off the Fed presses.
Fred Lopez

sue the liberal government
Jim in Houston

Is it any wonder that when i was 19 I left Illinois and never looked back. If we didn’t have some relatives still there, we would NEVER go back. It sucked in 1956 when I left and it sucks even more now.

poorhardworker

Ah…a person from the the Daley Sr era!…me too! And you really believed in the lottery? I am with you…Illinois sucks now! Can’t pay any of it’s bills! How anti-American! I won’t be going back to Illinois again soon either! John Sr, did a lot of good through heavy handed measures in Chicago,\..but agree with your sentiment, Jim! There is very little accountability once anyone is elected to s seat outside of that arena. The further a politician is removed from facing his constituents the less responsibility he has…what a sorry state of affairs we now face…politicians without conscience and accountability…

Gibbs Bentley

The lottery is a scam and always has been. You will be very angry once you learn the facts.

Go to http://911essentials.com and watch CAFR School: School Districts And The Lottery, in the ‘Your Wealth’ section.
1608thepoet

Face up to it! Illinois is a criminal enterprise masquerading as a State.
Clarity2012

Should be able to charge them penalties and interest, turnabout is only fair.
Ellsworth

Why does anyone still live in Chicago or the state of Illinois? Seriously.
Vote with your pocketbook and your feet. Protect your family and get out.
Richard

I left that CORRUPT state in 1981 and never looked back, either. I have lived since in a state with NO state income tax, better roads, beter climate, ec. etc. etc. That state is Florida, and there are other states just like us.

Non-Florida-Native-but still a Rebel

Florida baby~ yeah baby~
the best state in all 57 states (o-bama sez that we have 57 states)

boo-ya~!
if you could read- you can read this and weap~
Florida is the best, better than all the rest, you’ll find it cannot be beat, we got freshly paved streets;
you’ll never find a place like Flo-rid-aaaa~!!!!!
Dave-o

@non-florida:

If you can read, it’s spelled ‘weep.’

DevilsPrinciple

LOL, .Dave

JP

What do you expect….a blue city in a blue state. They are all broke, all over the country
Bagbalm

Play the numbers on the street and you will get paid. The mob understand you get hurt if you don’t pay your bets
LaVonte d’Ashawn Jackson IV

You live in that filthy, sleazy, nasty place, it’s on you. Keep voting for liberals, you stupid idiots. You’ll keep getting the nastiest city in the nation. Losers.

librtyship

Hey! When you are dumb enough to live in a Thugocracy like Chicago you gotta expect things like that!

Jeff

Too bad they probably won’t cover any returned check charges the winners have incurred.

James Nelson

They say that they will pay for returned check fees. Stay tuned and see if they do.

sylvie

hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, guess we needed to bail out some bank in Germany, France, or the UK. hahahahahahahahahahahahaha…
Rod Anders

Don’t ever expect government to live up to its promises, commitments, or contracts.
http://bayarearealestatetrends.com/2012/01/06/friday-afternoon-reading-2/ Friday Afternoon Reading | Bay Area Real Estate Trends

[...] llinois Lottery Winners Get Stiffed When State Checks Don’t Cash – CBS Chicago [...]
Bonnie BigBaby Bankhead

Att least they got a check to cash. I was sent to the State Comptroller’s office because eff. 10/15/11, the State lottery will send your winnings to the agency if you owe child support, delinquent student loans, taxes, public aid overpayment, etc. My SSN was flagged for Illinois Student Scholarship Commission student loans that were consolidated in 2010 w/the U.S. Dept of Education. When I called the lottery to tell them I didn’t owe the money, I was told to contact ISSC. When I did and they said my balance was zero, Illinois Lottery told me they send the money downstate who sends it to ISSC. When ISSC gets the money, they will refund the money to me. 2 agencies, 4-6 weeks each. So…if MY SSN was flagged erroneously, how many others are? Who at the Illinois Lottery verified the information or asked for reverification before flagging SSNs? I won my money the beginning of Dec. $1000. I cashed it in a week later, the week before Christmas and got a nice letter telling me they took my money while I was in the Niles lottery office. I wish the news would research that and put them on blast for that because I am still waiting for MY winnings! Oh, did I mention? Illinois Lottery don’t handle their own complaints. You are directed to an agency that handles complaints & It’s been 3 weeks since I filed, haven’t seen my check yet but received emails telling me it was sent to the dept looking into it & they will be getting back to me. Can the news investigate that?

David Axelrod

Don’t worry…they’ll do a great job with your health care.
James Nelson

They will pay you. hopefully before the second coming of Jesus.

http://www.fastnews.tv/?p=141359 CHICAGOLAND: Lottery winners issued bad checks… | Breaking News

[...] (First column, 1st story, link) [...]
Benny Franklinn

RON PAUL IS BEST FOR ALL!!!
RON PAUL IS BEST FOR ALL!!!
RON PAUL IS BEST FOR ALL!!!
RON PAUL IS BEST FOR ALL!!!

Spanky

Paul would be the same age (77) STARTING a Presidency that Reagan was FINISHING his Presidency.

Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a few years after leaving office.

The odds of someone getting Alzheimers or another form of dementia at Paul’s age are just too high. Half of all people get Alzheimers by age 85.

It doesn’t matter how fit or smart Paul is now, the disease hits the fit and unfit equally often.

If you have a good VP to back him up, then run that person for Pres instead.

Sorry, Paul is just too old for most voters.