The Public Administrator

This article gives a nice introduction to the role of the Public Administrator in the probate process.  The article focuses on California, but the same general idea applies in Illinois.  Simply put, the public administrator handles estates when a person dies and no one comes forward to do the job.  Section 13-4(a) of the Illinois Probate Act (755 ILCS 5/13-4(a)) has the full story (emphasis added):

When a person dies owning any real or personal estate in this State and there is no person in this State having a prior right to administer his estate, the public administrator of the county of which the decedent was a resident, or of the county in which his estate is situated, if the decedent was a nonresident of this State, may take such measures as he deems proper to protect and secure the estate from waste, loss or embezzlement until letters of office on the estate are issued to the person entitled thereto or until a demand for the removal of the personal estate from this State is made by a nonresident representative pursuant to the authority granted by this Act. When letters of office are issued to the public administrator, he has the same powers and duties as other representatives of decedents' estates appointed under this Act until he is discharged or his authority is sooner terminated by order of court.

The Cook County Public Administrator has a webpage, located here.  For those readers interested in purchasing real estate out of probate, you may find the page worth your while -- the Public Administrator sells real estate via public auction four times a year.