CHICAGO (AP) — A lawyer says Chicago has benefited from 22,000 uncashed checks worth $11 million, some going back to the 1980s.

The Chicago Sun-Times says attorney Clint Krislov made the discovery through a public-records request during a legal dispute between the city and retirees. He says Chicago is supposed to notify the state of Illinois if a check from the city is uncashed after three years. The state has a website for people to look for unclaimed property.

The checks include a $44,000 payment in 1991 to Commonwealth Edison. The Sun-Times apparently didn’t cash five small checks from the city.

Law department spokesman Bill McCaffrey says Chicago is not bound by the state’s unclaimed property law and has its own procedures for uncashed checks. He didn’t elaborate.