Illinois Statutes Chapter 20. Executive Branch § 1605/20.1. Department account

(a) The Department is authorized to pay validated prizes up to $25,000 from funds held by the Department in an account separate and apart from all public moneys of the State. Moneys in this account shall be administered by the Director exclusively for the purposes of issuing payments to prize winners authorized by this Section. Moneys in this account shall be deposited by the Department into the Public Treasurers' Investment Pool established under Section 17 of the State Treasurer Act. 1 The Department shall submit vouchers from time to time as needed for reimbursement of this account from moneys appropriated for prizes from the State Lottery Fund. Investment income earned from this account shall be deposited monthly by the Department into the Common School Fund. The Department shall file quarterly fiscal reports specifying the activity of this account as required under Section 16 of the State Comptroller Act,  2 and shall file quarterly with the General Assembly, the Auditor General, the Comptroller, and the State Treasurer a report indicating the costs associated with this activity.

(b) The Department is authorized to enter into an interagency agreement with the Office of the Comptroller or any other State agency to establish responsibilities, duties, and procedures for complying with the Comptroller's Offset System under Section 10.05 of the State Comptroller Act. 3 All federal and State tax reporting and withholding requirements relating to prize winners under this Section shall be the responsibility of the Department. Moneys from this account may not be used to pay amounts to deferred prize winners. Moneys may not be transferred from the State Lottery Fund to this account for payment of prizes under this Section until procedures are implemented to comply with the Comptroller's Offset System and sufficient internal controls are in place to validate prizes.