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Jackpot! State Lottery Ready To Resume Paying Prizes ... But Still Faces A Lawsuit

Illinois Lottery

The Illinois Lottery will resume paying out big prizes, thanks to a partial budget just signed into law. But that won't be enough to end a class-action lawsuit.

The jackpot's been out of reach, even for Lottery players lucky enough to win $600 or more. Illinois suspended paying larger prizes; without a budget, it didn't have the legal authority.

Now the winners' wait is coming to an end. The Lottery director says prize claims will be processed in the order received, beginning Dec. 14.

That's welcome news, says Thomas Zimmerman Jr., who represents Lottery winners impatient for their money.

"This is money that should have been paid out long ago," he said Monday. "It could have been deposited into their own bank accounts. They could have earned interest on it … but instead the state was withholding it wrongfully. And the state was earning the interest on it."

Zimmerman says that's why the lawsuit will continue; he's arguing the state must now also pay some $1.5 million in interest on the delayed prizes.

"This is unprecedented in the history of the Lottery. No state in the country has ever had the situation. It's an unconstitutional taking of their property," Zimmerman said.

Illinois made national headlines when the budget stalemate halted the awarding of big prizes, and in-state sales slumped.

Amanda Vinicky moved to Chicago Tonight on WTTW-TV PBS in 2017.
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