Illinois lottery winners get IOUs instead of cash

Any Talkshop reader can probably relate to this Telegraph story, even if it’s not science.

Lottery winners in Illinois are being forced to accept an IOU, rather than cash, because the state has been unable to agree its budget. Gamblers who win more than $600 (£388) will not be given cash until the state’s financial situation has improved.

In July the city said that payments of more than $25,000 would be temporarily suspended, but Thursday’s announcement of the lower threshold has left winners furious. “You know what’s funny? If we owed the state money, they’d come take it and they don’t care whether we have a roof over our head,” said Susan Rick, 48, who won $250,000 in July. “Our budget wouldn’t be a factor. You can’t say to the state, ‘Can you wait until I get my budget under control?’”

Two lottery winners last month filed a lawsuit against the lottery, demanding their money with interest. “If I was the one selling raffle tickets and I didn’t pay, I would be sued or in jail or both,” said Rhonda Rasche, one of the winners who filed the suit, in an interview with The Chicago Tribune.

The Illinois Lottery has withheld more than $288 million in prizes since the state budget expired in June, according to the lawsuit.The problem has arisen because the state of Illinois has, for five months, been unable to agree on its budget.

Bruce Rauner, the Republican governor of Illinois, has failed to secure approval for his “Turnaround Agenda” from the Democrat-ruled General Assembly. It has meant that state-funded services have been reduced. Programmes for subsidised child care, victims of domestic violence, people with disabilities, and elderly people who receive home care have been cut.

No deadline has been set for the budget agreement, to the frustration of Mr Rauner – and lottery winners. “For the first time, we were finally going get a break,” Ms Rick told The Chicago Tribune. “And now the Illinois Lottery has kind of messed everything up.”

Source: Illinois hands IOUs to lottery winners instead of cash – Telegraph