Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford will hold a community networking event from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. next Tuesday, Sept. 13 at the SIU Student Center in Carbondale — and many attendees could walk away with more cash than they came in with.

The event is a promotion for the treasurer's Cash Dash program, which takes unclaimed property businesses and banks legally are required to turn over to the treasurer's office — inactive checking accounts, unpaid wages, bill overpayments and paid-up insurance policies — and returns it to the rightful owners. The treasurer's office says unclaimed property has been separated from its owners for at least five years, and owners usually are not aware of the money's existence.

Many claims for average Illinois residents range from $10 to $100, while some climb even higher. Attendees will have the chance to search the Cash Dash database at the event, which also can be accessed online at https://www.treasurer.il.gov/programs/up/UP_Login.asp.

Next week's event, however, also is being presented as an after-hours community networking event and an opportunity to visit personally with Rutherford and other community leaders and elected officials. For more information, call 217-782-2211.