2022

CHICAGO — Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs today hosted a celebration to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month at the new state government building at 555 W. Monroe St. The event was an opportunity to reflect on the great achievements of Hispanics and present awards to leaders in the community, including an ultramarathon runner, a popular late legislative staff member and a human rights chair. “Today, let us take a moment to recognize the contributions of our Hispanic and Latino neighbors,” Frerichs said. “Let’s celebrate their dedication to making our communities a…

SPRINGFIELD — The tech team at Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs’ office is one of the world’s best, a recent cybersecurity competition showed. A three-person Information Technology team from the state treasurer’s office reached the semi-final round in the International Cyber League 2022 competition. The team finished 15th out of 500 that entered. Just 200 teams escaped the qualifying round, and the Illinois treasurer contingent was the only government team to do so. The treasurer team performed better than counterparts from some Fortune 100 companies and a branch of the…

SPRINGFIELD — A leading player in the sub-prime mortgage crisis must surrender more than $500,000 to Illinois taxpayers rather than use the funds to pay bankruptcy debt, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said today. In a significant, precedent-setting case, a New York bankruptcy judge agreed that it was not enough for Ditech Holding Co. to say it tried to identify Illinoisans it owed money as a result of questionable lending practices for initial home loans and mortgage refinancing. Instead, the judge agreed with Frerichs that remaining unclaimed borrower funds should…

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs was unanimously elected president of a bipartisan organization that brings together state finance officials to address government financial management issues. Frerichs’ Democratic and Republican colleagues from across the country picked him to be president of the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers (NASACT), the group announced today. “It’s such an honor that my peers chose me to lead this bipartisan organization that works to solve the challenges of government,” said Frerichs, who had been the organization’s treasurer. “Making sure state governments…

SPRINGFIELD — A silver Faberge picture frame; a $500 bill from 1934; and vintage baseball cards of Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Ron Santo and “Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks are among the pieces of unclaimed property that will be auctioned on Aug. 20 at the Illinois State Fair. The auction, which involves thousands of items with an estimated worth of more than $200,000, will take place on the Lincoln Stage at the fairgrounds in Springfield. “We are excited to host the unclaimed property auction at the 2022 Illinois State Fair…