Hanover Park woman wins $15 million lottery prize

(HANOVER PARK) A Hanover Park woman won $15 million from a World Class Millions scratch-off lottery ticket this week.

Michelle Baymon buys one or two instant lottery tickets each week, and was at home when she discovered she had won, Illinois lottery officials said.

“I passed it around for everyone in my family to look at it. We didn’t know how to react,” Baymon said.

“This is an incredible blessing. I never expected something like this to happen to me,” Baymon said as she turned in the winning ticket.

She chose to take her prize as a lump sum payment of $9 million, lottery officials said. She plans to use the windfall to buy a new house and a new car, invest and donate to charity.

Circle K, at 1597 W. Irving Park Road in Hanover Park, will receive $150,000 for selling the winning ticket, lottery officials said.

World Class Millions is a $30 instant ticket with three top prizes of $15 million and seven prizes of $1 million, according to the lottery. Two of the top prizes have yet to be claimed.