Glitch leaves local lottery winners without cash

The Illinois Lottery could use some of Brian Ringle's luck.

A glitch with a new operating system that went live Sunday kept lottery winners from receiving their promised cash payouts for days.

Ringle won $2,000 with a $5 scratch-off ticket over the weekend, but then spent 3½ hours waiting at the lottery's Des Plaines claim center for his check Monday only to be told the system was down and to try back later.

The 51-year-old from Wauconda said three other lottery winners endured similar waits with him Monday, but it's unknown how many winners were affected statewide, lottery officials said.

“I called back Tuesday and got the run around and when I called back today (Wednesday) they told me it wouldn't be until tomorrow,” Ringle said.

Ringle's luck changed late Wednesday when calls to lottery officials by the Daily Herald secured his check for pickup.

“I'm putting it all in the bank,” Ringle said of his winnings.

Agents at the claim center also gave him a sweatshirt and a backpack for his troubles after he had to wait another hour because of a clerical mistake, he said.

Lottery spokesman Tracy Owens said all the lottery's claim centers throughout the state, except for one outside St. Louis, were printing checks Wednesday once the glitch had been corrected. Winning tickets between $601 and $25,000 are processed at claim centers, Owens said.

The new check-processing system is part of a larger overhaul of the lottery's technology infrastructure implemented by Northstar Lottery Group, which took over management of the state's lottery system after winning a 10-year contract last year. The conversion has been a six-month process, Owens said.

The new system replaces an operating system that was 12 years old, he added. It's unclear what went wrong when the system went live, but Owens said the system was tested repeatedly before it went online.

Elizabeth Leonard, a spokeswoman for Northstar, said there were some “hiccups” when the system went live, but it was expected when implementing technology of “this magnitude.”

In addition to new check-processing methods, the new operating system will include many advanced features as well as show Amber Alerts at all 7,600 retail screens, officials said.

Money generated by the lottery goes toward Illinois education and capital improvement funding. When Northstar received the management contract, the company anticipated $5.2 billion in profits to the state over the next five years.