The state of Illinois found itself in hot water after failing to pay out $288 million in lottery winnings to lucky winners. According to attorney Tom Zimmerman, the state refused to pay any winnings above $600 until the budget crisis was resolved, despite continuing to air TV ads promoting the lottery.
Rhonda Rasche, a 49-year-old hospital clerk, was one of the winners who were told they would be receiving their winnings in four to six weeks. She had won $50,000, but months later, she had not received her payment.“I’ve been waiting for a check for $50,000,” she said. Rasche was one of the winners who sued the state for their winnings.
Tom Zimmerman, an attorney who represented some of the lottery winners who weren’t paid by the state of Illinois.
Susan Rick, another upset lottery winner, spoke to Inside Edition, saying, “We won. We finally can have a comfortable life. Suddenly you’re gonna pull the rug out from under us. We had a ticket for $250,000.”
Even city employees from Chicago who won $1 million in a lottery pool were not paid out. They also sued the state of Illinois.
The Illinois Lottery stated, “Payment delays will occur because there currently is no legal authority for the Illinois Comptroller or the Illinois Lottery to issue checks. Please note that the funding to pay winners exists, but the legal authority to issue checks does not.”
This man was part of a group of city employees from Chicago who joined a lottery pool and wound up winning $1 million, but they haven’t seen a dime of it.
The state promised to issue payments once the budget was passed, but taxpayers were outraged and were given nothing more than IOUs. Some citizens expressed their frustrations on social media, with one saying, “Stuff like this makes me wish I didn’t live in Illinois.”
The failure to pay out winnings left Illinois families in financial distress and caused a massive uproar in the community. Zimmerman stated that if any private business engaged in this kind of conduct, they would be shut down and indicted for fraud. It is hard to argue with that sentiment, and the state should have stopped selling tickets if it was unable to pay out winnings.
