Winning the lottery has been the dream for many, and in Illinois, lottery winners are hitting the jackpot. However, they are yet to receive their money.
The state recently announced that until the budget crisis was resolved, it will not be paying out lottery winnings amounting to more than $600. Ironically, they are still running television advertisements, promoting the lottery, and encouraging citizens to buy tickets.
Tom Zimmerman, an attorney representing a few of the outraged winners, stated that the winnings waiting to be paid out amounted to a staggering $288 million.
Susan Rick, one of the winners, stated in an interview, “We won. We finally can have a comfortable life. Suddenly you’re gonna get the rug out from underneath us. We had a ticket for $250,000.”
A group of employees from Chicago joined a lotto pool and won a million dollars. They still haven’t received a penny of the amount.
49-year-old Rhonda Rasche, a hospital clerk, won $50,000 from a scratch-off lotto ticket. Officials then told her that she would receive the check through mail four to six weeks later. Months have already passed but Rasche has yet to receive the promised check.
Rasche has joined the other winners who are planning to sue so that they can get paid.
Zimmerman stated, “If any private business would engage in this kind of conduct, selling tickets and not paying out the winner, the state would shut them down and indict them for fraud.”