Illinois lottery winners aren't being paid

Updated
Illinois Lottery Giving Out
Illinois Lottery Giving Out


Lottery winners in Illinois may be out of luck as the state currently doesn't have the funds to pay the winners.

Anyone who wins, or has one, $25,000 or more this summer won't be able to claim their prizes until the state passes their budget for the year.

Danny Chasteen, from Oglesby, is one of the many winners waiting for their payout.

Danny won $250,000 at the end of July on the 'cool cash' scratchcard but more than a month later he's still waiting for his jackpot.

He and his girlfriend say they were told to wait four to six weeks for the money to be transferred but they were later told that budget issues meant the cash was on hold for now.

According to WGN news, Danny had planned to pay off his bills with the money he won last month.

A spokesperson for the Illinois lottery has said that they have the money but without a budget the state controller doesn't have authority to distribute funds over $25,000.

State representative Jack Frank said: "Right now we're in the worst of all possible positions."

Adding: "It's an embarrassment, I think it's worse than an embarrassment, I think it's illegal."

Lottery spokesmen have said that once the budget is sorted the big winners will be paid in full, but no one currently knows when that will happen.



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Illinois Lottery Winners Want Their $$$
Illinois Lottery Winners Want Their $$$

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