§760.560. Other Discretionary Means of Providing Notice

 

a)         Paid Advertising

 

1)         The administrator may use paid advertising to increase awareness of the unclaimed property program, provide notice to persons who may be the owners of unclaimed property in the custody of the administrator, or to otherwise facilitate the return of unclaimed property to legal owners.

 

2)         Any paid advertising shall conform to the requirements of Section 5-20 of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act [5 ILCS 430].

 

b)         Direct Contact

 

1)         The administrator may use contact information reasonably believed to be accurate to attempt to directly contact apparent owners of property held by the administrator.

 

2)         When directly contacting an apparent owner, the administrator may reveal additional information concerning the apparent owner's property if the administrator believes the information will assist in identifying and returning property to the owner and does not disclose personal information as defined in the Personal Information Protection Act [815 ILCS 530].

 

3)         Direct contacts include, but are not limited to, telephone calls, in-person meetings, direct electronic communications, targeted social media contacts, and similar methods of contact.

 

c)         Broadcast Media

 

1)         The administrator may make agreements with broadcast media outlets to use live telethons, call-in programs, and similar events of limited duration to both promote the unclaimed property program authorized by the Act and to notify owners of the existence of unclaimed property.

 

2)         These broadcasts should be considered the dissemination of news and should not be considered a public service announcement or advertisement.

 

d)         Contractual Vendors

 

1)         The administrator may contract with one or more vendors that provide websites, including any websites endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA), to promote the unclaimed property program and seek to reunite owners with their unclaimed property.

 

2)         The administrator may contract with one or more vendors that provide applications to assist apparent owners in identifying and claiming property in the custody of the administrator. The vendors shall be selected by a competitive request for proposals pursuant to the Office of the Treasurer Procurement Rules [44 Ill. Adm. Code 1400]. Compensation must conform with the restrictions in Article 13 of the Act concerning agreements to locate property of apparent owners held by the administrator.