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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Consumer Protection

We Commend CFPB For Adding Consumer Stories To Public Complaint Database

Yesterday, the CFPB published the first batch (7,700) of consumer narratives or stories to the Public Consumer Complaint Database it began in 2011. We've used the database to publish five reports (so far) analyzing complaint trends in markets ranging from credit cards to student loans but we have also long urged the voluntary addition of stories to the data fields. Now, consumers can learn if what happened to them happened to anyone else. Now, researchers can track which banks are more responsive to particular problems and which ignore their customers. A good resource is now an excellent resource.

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Media Hit | Transportation

3 lessons from the Illiana boondoggle

With a few sentences in a news release last week, Gov. Bruce Rauner drove a crucial nail in the Illiana Expressway's coffin, a precipitous fall for what had been Illinois' No. 1 transportation priority. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG | Transportation

Statement: Governor Rauner Kills the Illiana Boondoggle

We applaud Governor Rauner for heeding the advice of thousands of Illinois residents who urged him to kill the wasteful Illiana expressway. Governor Rauner cited the 'current fiscal crisis,' but even in good fiscal times, the Illiana was an unjustified waste of taxpayer dollars. 

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Event 5/11 re new book on black box decisionmaking & consumers | Ed Mierzwinski

UPDATED TO CONFIRM CFPB Speaker. We are hosting an event Monday, 5/11, from 9am-noon ET to discuss a new book, The Black Box Society, with author Frank Pasquale. Click Keep Reading to RSVP to attend in person or to watch the livestream. While credit bureaus have long functioned as black box gatekeepers to opportunity, panelists will discuss the growing use of more and more, even less transparent black boxes to categorize consumers in the digital economy.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG | Ed's Blog

New Report Finds Drivers Pay Less Than Half the Cost of Roads

As Congress struggles to renew the federal transportation law and Illinois considers revenue options for transportation, a new report from the Illinois PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group finds that drivers currently pay less than half the total cost of roads, and argues that while increasing gas taxes could fill the shortfall, it would leave other problems unaddressed.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

New Report Details Latest Numbers on Outside Spending, Secret Money and Super PAC Fundraising for 2012 Elections

The Top 5 “dark money” spenders on presidential election ads have reported less than 1% of their spending to the FEC, which is all that is required by the agency’s insufficient standards, according to a new report analyzing the latest campaign filings.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

New Report: Long-Term Drop in How Much People Drive

A new report released today by the Illinois PIRG Education Fund demonstrates that Americans have been driving less since the middle of last decade. The report shows that young people in particular are decreasing the amount they drive and increasing their use of transportation alternatives.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Tax

Progress Report: Promised Reforms to Protect Chicago Tax Dollars ‘Incomplete’

 

Yesterday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that he will be immediately implementing some of the reforms proposed by his TIF Reform Panel five months ago. Today, watchdog group Illinois PIRG Education Fund released a report on the need to fix TIF and called for all of the Mayor’s recommendations to become law.

 

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Safe Energy

Nuclear Power Plants Pose Risks to Drinking Water for Illinois

The drinking water for 652,000 people in Illinois could be at risk of radioactive contamination from a leak or accident at a local nuclear power plant.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Budget

Thirty Fortune 500 Companies Paid More to Lobby Congress Than Taxes

With the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case approaching – which opened the floodgates to corporate spending on elections – Illinois PIRG and Citizens for Tax Justice reveal thirty corporations that spent more to lobby Congress than they did in taxes.

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  • Trouble In Toyland
    Our report highlights the toys that have been recently recalled, explains the hazards they pose, and shines a spotlight on those that may still be available for sale online.
    Get the tips
  • Why are health experts alarmed?
    More than 93% of doctors are concerned about the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms, yet factory farms still use up to 70% of all antibiotics sold in the U.S.
    Learn why
  • Reclaim our democracy
    Our democracy is based on the principle of one person, one vote, but our research shows the increasing dominance of big money in our elections.
    Get the facts
  • PROTECT YOURSELF
    We've created consumer tips to help protect you from unfair bank fees, identity theft, loan rip-offs and more.
    Get the tips

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