A Chicago mother of three named Claudia says she thought she was losing her mind after scratching off a $5 Illinois Lottery ticket and seeing a $400,000 jackpot staring back at her. She bought the ticket at a convenience store in the 2800 block of West 55th Street in Gage Park, and now she is planning a back-to-school shopping spree for her kids without telling them the real reason behind it.
Claudia told WGN-TV that she scratched the ticket, an entry in the In the Money game, right at the store, California Enterprises, before calling her mother and sister to share the news. Both reacted with disbelief, according to the station's report. Claudia said her children have no idea that the upcoming shopping trip is secretly meant to stock up on school supplies, and she has said she plans to put the winnings toward her kids' education.
State winner logs confirm the ticket was validated on July 29, according to Illinois Lottery records, which list the retailer as 55th California Enterprises in Chicago's 60632 zip code. The $5 In the Money game launched in September 2025 with top prizes set at $400,000, according to ScratchOdds. Odds of landing the jackpot sit at 1 in 1,595,960, while players overall have a 1 in 4.99 chance of winning any prize on the game, per the seed report.
Why Claudia Had to Wait to Cash In
Because her prize topped $10,000, Claudia could not simply cash the ticket at the register or through the state's online e-Claims portal. Illinois Lottery regulations require winners at that level to claim their prize in person by appointment at an official claim center or by mail, a security measure the agency says is meant to protect large payouts.
The state also automatically withheld taxes before Claudia saw a dime. Illinois lottery rules mandate a flat 4.95% state income tax withholding on prizes of $1,000 or more, along with a mandatory 24% federal withholding on prizes over $5,000. Per TaxAct's calculator, that works out to roughly $19,800 in state taxes and about $96,000 in federal taxes on Claudia's win, leaving her with an estimated take-home total of about $284,200, according to the same calculator cited by the station.
A Nice Bonus for the Corner Store, Too
Claudia's win also comes with a payday for the shop that sold her the ticket. California Enterprises will receive a $4,000 seller bonus, equal to 1% of the prize amount, for selling the winning ticket. That kind of incentive is not unusual: Illinois Lottery retail partners collectively earned an estimated $172 million in sales commissions and retailer bonuses during fiscal year 2025 for moving winning draw and instant tickets.
Those retailer payouts are a small slice of a much larger revenue engine. The Illinois Lottery generated $796 million in state proceeds during fiscal year 2025, with $784 million of that flowing directly into the Common School Fund that supports public K-12 education statewide. Since the lottery began earmarking regular game proceeds for education in 1985, it has generated more than $26 billion in cumulative contributions to Illinois public schools — a fitting backdrop given Claudia's own plans to put her winnings toward her children's schooling.
More Jackpots Still Out There
Claudia's win landed during an unusually hot stretch for Illinois Lottery players. The state reported nearly $2.0 billion in total ticket sales during the first half of fiscal year 2026, a new first-half sales record for the agency. That surge came just as a single ticket holder in Quincy claimed a $1.04 billion Powerball jackpot this month, one of the largest Powerball wins in U.S. history.
For anyone hoping to chase a similar windfall, the In the Money game is not tapped out yet. As of August, the Illinois Lottery's unclaimed prize tracker showed two more $400,000 top jackpots still unclaimed in the game. Fast Play winners, a related instant-win format the lottery offers both online and in stores among its roster of more than 35 games, have one year from their win date to claim prizes.
Claudia's story follows a string of similar scratch-off jackpots around the Chicago area in recent months, including a Lombard breaktime scratch win and a Granite City shopper's $1 million honeymoon jackpot. For now, though, Claudia is keeping her focus close to home, quietly planning a shopping trip her kids will remember for the wrong reasons entirely — new backpacks and supplies, no idea about the jackpot behind them.
