7.1.57 Outstanding Checks

Policy

The University writes approximately 180,000 checks per year. For one reason or another, some checks do not clear the bank. The check may be lost, stolen, destroyed, or just not presented by the payee for payment. The checks which have been written but have not cleared the bank are called outstanding checks.

Each month the bank furnishes the University with a printout of outstanding checks on the payroll account. The printout lists each outstanding check in check number order and will include the date the check was issued, the amount of the check, and the payee. On the disbursement amount, the list is produced internally.

The University makes a concerted effort to resolve all outstanding checks which are outstanding for at least four months and are greater than or equal to $25. A form letter is sent to the vendor or payee asking them if they received the check and asks them which action should be taken. Options include re-issuing the check, not re-issuing the check, etc. It takes approximately two to three days to re-issue a check.

All outstanding checks are written off into a holding account after at least a year. At the end of seven years, the money is turned over to the Unclaimed Property Division of the State of Illinois. The money is no longer under the control of the University at this point. The Unclaimed Property Division of the State of Illinois publishes in the major newspapers in Illinois a list of payees which have been turned over to them.

Claims for property held by the State must be made to the Department of Financial Institutions, Claims/Inquiry Section, 500 Iles Park Place, Suite 510, Springfield, IL 62718-1094. Money unclaimed at this point becomes part of the State's Pension Fund and becomes available for appropriation to the State Retirement Systems.

Please see the Reissued Checks policy for more information.