Harvard man wins $650K lottery prize

A north suburban man won a $650,000 jackpot prize in the Illinois Lottery.

Joe Staver bought the winning Lucky Day Lotto ticket for the Saturday, March 12 midday drawing at Chemung Country Store, 24102 Rt. 173 in Harvard, according to a release from the Illinois Lottery. The winning ticket matched all five numbers — 05, 07, 20, 31, 35.

The day after the drawing, Staver used the store’s lottery self-service ticket scanner to check his ticket, according to the release. When the message “file a claim” appeared on the screen, he knew he had won a big prize.

“When the clerk told me I won $650,000, I signed the back of my ticket right away,” Staver said in the release.

Staver and his Marie, who have been married 36 years and have two children and seven grandchildren, plan to buy a house and two vehicles.

“We also plan to make investments for our grandchildren,” the couple said in the release.

The store received a $6,500 bonus, one percent of the prize amount, for selling a winning ticket.