Warrants and Forgeries
Funds/Appropriations & Receipt Processing
The Warrant Processing System (WPS) is the State Treasurer’s accounting record for all state funds. A warrant is legally defined as a negotiable instrument drawn by the Comptroller on the State Treasury to effect payment of funds held by the Treasurer for debts incurred by State agencies. A warrant is commonly known as a state check; examples include payroll checks, retirement checks, and vendor payments.
The Treasurer’s principal use for the WPS is to ensure the legislature’s appropriation and the state’s available fund balance cover all warrants prior to their release by the State Comptroller. The Treasurer, in effect, ensures that no state checks bounce.
Warrants with insufficient fund balances are held back and checked daily to determine whether sufficient funds have become available. Upon the completion of these tasks, Warrant Division personnel contact the State Comptroller’s office to release hardcopy and direct deposit warrants.
Processing Forgery/Fraud Claims
When financial institutions present state warrants to the Treasurer for payment, by law, they guarantee that they are authorized to obtain payment. Since a forged warrant does not constitute a payee’s valid authorization, the financial institution presenting it has breached its presentment warranty and must reimburse the Treasurer. To reimburse the rightful payee (or, in cases of fraud, the State), the Treasurer will presentment-warranty claims against financial institutions that accept forged state warrants. (810 ILCS 5/4-207)
If you are the rightful payee of a state warrant that you suspect was forged, you will need to complete and return three originally signed and notarized Forged Warrant Affidavits and one Forged Warrant Investigation Claim Form. If the warrant was payable to more than one person, each person must sign and have notarized three separate Forged Warrant Affidavits. You must also provide a copy of the warrant(s) in question, including the front and back, which show the endorsement. If you do not have a copy of the warrant, please contact the Comptroller’s Office at 217-782-5897 or 800-877-8078 to obtain a copy.
Send a copy of the warrant(s), a copy of your driver’s license or state I.D., a completed Investigation Claim Form, and the three originally signed and notarized Affidavits for each payee named on the warrant, to the address below:
Illinois State Treasurer’s Office
Attn: Warrant Division/Forgery Section
1 East Old State Capitol Plaza
Springfield, IL 62701
Once the documents have been received, we will begin to make a preliminary investigation into your claim. We may require additional information from you to help determine whether a forgery has occurred. We will notify you in writing within five business days after receiving your documents whether there is sufficient evidence to pursue your claim.
If it is determined that the endorsement is a forgery, it may take up to 10 weeks or more to process your claim and provide you with a replacement check. For authorization to deposit your replacement check directly into your savings or checking account, please complete and sign an Authorization for Direct Deposit of Forgery Reimbursement form.
Forms
- Authorization for direct deposit of forgery reimbursement
- Forged warrant affidavit
- Forged warrant(s) investigation claim form
- Letter of instruction: How to submit a forged warrant claim