2/26/2010 - Friends of Robin Kelly

Last week, Robin’s opponent tried to peddle misinformation about a Treasurer’s Office program that is saving taxpayer dollars and putting more money back into the pockets of Illinois residents.

Rutherford of Pontiac attempted to score political points by opting out of the Treasurer’s Office direct mail program, which has helped return $5.8 million in lost cash and assets to more than 5,000 Illinois residents the past two years – while saving the state $25,000.

Rutherford falsely accused the office of sending the letters to the bad addresses that caused the money to be disconnected from owners in the first place.  He soon learned that more than 40 percent of owners contacted through the direct mail program initiated claims for their property. That compares to less than 1 percent of owners included on legislative lists who initiated claims after being contacted through the legislative mailing process used by some lawmakers.

Prior to implementing the direct mail program, the Treasurer’s Office published the new names of unclaimed property owners in newspapers, in every county across the state two times a year. Last year, the average cost for publication was $3.25 per name.

The state can either spend $3.25 to place an individual’s name in a newspaper that they probably won’t see, or spend just 70 cents to send a letter directly to their home.

“When the state is in financial crisis, every leader should be looking for ways to do more with less – not play politics with the facts,” Robin said. “Fiscal responsibility to achieve greater savings and better service to taxpayers is my goal as the Treasurer’s chief of staff and will be my priority as State Treasurer of Illinois.“