Illinois
$552M Mega Millions Winner Claims Prize In IL: 'It Still Feels Unreal'
ILLINOIS — The Illinois winner of the $552 million Mega Millions lottery prize has come forward to claim their money, which represents the largest jackpot to be won by playing the game online in U.S. history.
“I was scrolling through my emails when I saw one from the Illinois Lottery saying to check my numbers because I won a prize,” the winner, who asked to remain anonymous, said in a lottery news release. “In the past, I’ve won $2 here or $5 there, so I assumed it would be similar.”
“You can’t imagine my shock and disbelief when I saw that I had won the jackpot amount of $552 million. I actually quit the app and then signed back in to double-check and make sure it was real. It was real alright — but it still feels unreal!”
The winner matched the June 4 jackpot numbers of 19, 37, 40, 63, 69 and 17. It was the ninth-largest Mega Millions prize in the game’s history and the second-largest won in Illinois. A July 2022 ticket bought at a Des Plaines gas station yielded a $1.337 billion jackpot, which is the biggest lottery prize ever won in the state.
Last week’s jackpot will come out to $260.2 million in cash, according to Mega Millions.
“I was raised by a single mom and throughout my childhood, she had to work two jobs to provide for our family, to put food on the table, and for us to get an education,” the winner said in the news release.
“I am a hard worker. I’ve spent my life as a laborer and once I was making a decent living, I asked my mom to retire and let me take care of her. It was my way of thanking her for how much she sacrificed for us. I haven’t told her yet about this life-changing windfall but when that time comes, we’re all going to be shedding some happy tears.”
The lucky winner plans to retire early and enjoy life with family.
The Chicago Bears released a statement on Wednesday after Illinois legislators took a step forward with keeping the team in the state.
Shortly after the bill passed out of a House committee 15-5 and then was passed again by the full House, the Bears said the bill is not enough for them.
“We welcome the progress made on the House’s version of the mega project bill; however, additional amendments are necessary to make the Arlington Heights site feasible for our stadium project. We support Illinois leaders as they determine the path forward to making the essential changes to the mega project bill and aligning on infrastructure funding,” the team said in a statement.
The vote on Wednesday came after lawmakers spent weeks working to address concerns and criticism that the bill provided incentives to the team to leave Chicago and surrounding potential revenue shortfalls to area schools if the stadium is built in Arlington Heights.
Despite the team’s dissatisfaction, the megaprojects bill, which would allow the Bears to negotiate property tax payments directly with the Village of Arlington Heights, is headed now to the Senate.
A key piece of legislation designed to keep the Chicago Bears’ stadium project in Illinois is being weighed, and Rose Schmidt has details on what’s in it.
That said, the bill’s lead Senate sponsor State Sen. Bill Cunningham told NBC Chicago’s Mary Ann Ahern that legislators “feel no pressure to take a vote next week” when the Senate returns on Tuesday.
“We will work this bill like any other bill,” Cunningham said.
Though the team is not satisfied with the deal, it seems Illinois Governor Pritzker is.
“Governor Pritzker has been clear and consistent for years that the Bears should remain in Illinois, and that any legislation needs to protect taxpayers. Throughout the past few months, the Governor’s Office brought team leadership, local officials, and legislative partners to the table to craft a deal around public infrastructure improvements, property tax fairness, and affordability measures. Today is an important step, and the Governor’s Office looks forward to working with the Illinois General Assembly to advance a bill that reflects our shared priorities,” Pritzker’s office said in a statement on Wednesday.
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