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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

Illinois gets an ‘B-’ for efforts to address lead in school drinking water

Reacting to pervasive lead contamination in schools’ drinking water, Illinois PIRG Education Fund gave Illinois a B- grade today for addressing the problem, according to a new national report. In the second edition of Illinois PIRG Education Fund's Get The Lead Out study, the state showed good progress as Illinois received a D grade in 2017.

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Report | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

Get the Lead Out

 

Our children need safe drinking water – especially at school where they go to learn and play each day.  Unfortunately, lead is contaminating drinking water at schools and pre-schools across the country. As our report shows, states are failing to make the grade when it comes to keeping lead out of drinking water at school.  Instead of waiting for more testing, we need to proactively remove the lead pipes and plumbing at the root of this toxic hazard for our children.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Health Care

Prices of common medications can vary by hundreds of dollars

While many Americans struggle to afford their prescription drugs, U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s survey of retail prices of commonly-prescribed medications found patients can save hundreds, even thousands of dollars in some cases by shopping around at pharmacies within their communities.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Campaign Finance Analysis: Small Donors a Small Factor in Chicago Mayoral Race

Analysis of Mayoral campaign finance reports through one week before Election Day shows that less than 1 percent of money raised has come from donors giving less than $150, while 97 percent has come from donors giving $1,000 or more. 

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Report | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Small Donors A Small Factor In Chicago Mayoral Race

As we approach ten years since Citizens United v. FEC, the growing dominance of a small group of big donors in Illinois elections is undeniable. From City Council to Governor, political campaigns are increasingly fueled by a small number of donors who make contributions far larger than average voters can afford.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Year-end report demonstrates ongoing problems with Peoples Gas pipe replacement program

A year-end report filed Friday provides additional evidence that the troubled Peoples Gas pipe replacement program is a bad deal for Chicago gas customers. The gas utility’s System Modernization Program (SMP) is delivering less value for more money, making it so increasing numbers of customers can’t afford their gas bills. Furthermore, Peoples Gas is failing to adequately track or report on its program as ordered by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC).

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund

Caring For Caregivers

Illinois PIRG Education Fund hails the recommendation of the Chicago Resilient Families Task Force report to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to unpaid caregivers. The proposal is a creative way to ensure Americans can maintain their quality of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as technology changes the nature of work.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Illinois Supreme Court decision maintains critical enforcement power of Illinois’ unique biometric privacy law

This morning, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed and remanded an appellate court decision in Rosenbach v. Six Flags, affirming citizens’ ability to enforce the unique Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) when entities collect individuals’ biometric information without first acquiring informed consent. Illinois PIRG Education Fund filed an amicus brief in the case arguing for reversal and remand, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Illinois, the Center for Democracy & Technology, the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Lucy Parsons Labs.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Food

New report: Hazardous Meat & Poultry Recalls Nearly Double

From E. coli-infected romaine lettuce to Salmonella-tainted beef, contaminated foods lead to illnesses that sicken as many as 1 in 6 Americans annually. In 2018, this epidemic helped spur major recalls, which caused stores and restaurants to toss millions of pounds of meat and produce.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Court Blocks Release of Controversial Illinois Electric Market Study

The Circuit Court of Cook County granted a preliminary injunction on Monday preventing the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) and its chairman Brien Sheahan from releasing the controversial NextGrid study on the future of electric utility regulations in Illinois. The court blocked the report until the conclusion of an ongoing lawsuit that alleges the study process violated Illinois law.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Lead In Fidget Spinners

While lead in toys has become less prevalent in recent years, U.S. PIRG Education Fund tested several models of one of today’s hottest toys, fidget spinners, for the toxic heavy metal. Laboratory results indicated that two fidget spinners purchased at Target and distributed by Bulls i Toy, L.L.C. contained extremely high levels of lead. U.S. PIRG Education Fund calls on Target and Bulls i Toy to immediately recall these two fidget spinners and investigate how such high levels of lead were found in these toys. Also, we call on the U.S.

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Report | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Tax

Offshore Shell Games 2017

This study explores how in 2016 Fortune 500 companies used tax haven subsidiaries to avoid paying taxes on much of their income. It reveals that tax haven use is now standard practice among the Fortune 500 and that a handful of the country’s biggest corporations benefit the most from offshore tax avoidance schemes. 

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Report | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Older Consumers in the Financial Marketplace

Older Americans are at risk of harm from predatory financial behavior. An analysis of more than 72,000 financial complaints submitted by older Americans (those 62 years of age and older) to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and contained in its Consumer Complaint Database suggests that mistreatment of older Americans by financial companies is widespread.

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Report | Illinois PIRG Education Fund | Antibiotics

Chain Reaction III

The third annual Chain Reaction report, which grades companies on their antibiotics policies and practices, found that 14 out of the top 25 restaurants in the U.S. have taken steps to restrict the routine use of antibiotics in the production of the chicken they serve, up from nine just one year ago. While restaurant chains made great progress on chicken, the groups who authored the report found that there were no new commitments to limit antibiotic use in beef and pork.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

Chain Reaction III

The third annual Chain Reaction report, which grades companies on their antibiotics policies and practices, found that 14 out of the top 25 restaurants in the U.S. have taken steps to restrict the routine use of antibiotics in the production of the chicken they serve, up from nine just one year ago. While restaurant chains made great progress on chicken, the groups who authored the report found that there were no new commitments to limit antibiotic use in beef and pork.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Protecting Consumers from Runaway Gas Bills | Abe Scarr

The Illinois Commerce Commission is considering action that could hike Chicago gas bills for decades to come.

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Blog Post | Public Health

Calling for Big Action on Antibiotics in the Big Apple | Steve Blackledge

Last week, we were in New York City, where the United Nations General Assembly spent an entire day discussing antibiotic resistance, “the biggest threat to modern medicine.” Experts estimate that more than 700,000 people worldwide die from antibiotic-resistant infections each year, including 23,000 in the United States—a number that could grow to 10 million globally by 2050.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Consumers Count: Five years of the CFPB standing up for consumers | Kathryn Lee

This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau turns five years old! As part of our efforts to tell more people about the CFPB, we're cross-posting this video blog and comments written by Zixta Q. Martinez of the CFPB (check out the infographic at the end, too!).

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Blog Post | Transportation

Good Things Come to Those On Bikes | Sean Doyle

Pull the bike out of the closet, pump up those tires, and dust off the helmet because it's Bike to Work Week!

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Blog Post | Transportation

Don’t Believe the Hype – Millennials’ Transportation Habits Are Changing | Sean Doyle

Despite news stories claiming that Millennials are buying up cars at record rates, the reality is quite different. After adjusting previous studies to account for differences in the size of the generations measured, on a per-capita basis, Millennials are 29 percent less likely than members of Generation X to own a car.

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News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund

New study: Illinois is facing serious recycling challenges 

Illinois is failing to make progress in its recycling efforts, according to a new study from Illinois PIRG Education Fund. The second annual State of Recycling in Illinois highlights structural challenges, the rise of plastic, effects of failing to recycle, the state’s new chemical recycling law, and trends in the state’s recycling data.

Report | Illinois PIRG Education Fund

The State of Recycling In Illinois

Across the United States, our recycling system is faltering. Local governments from Jackson, Mississippi to Sierra Vista, Arizona are ending their curbside recycling programs. Many other municipalities have reduced the list of materials they will accept.  Even when recycling does end up in a blue bin, it may be immediately landfilled or burned --until earlier this year roughly half of Philadelphia's collected recycling was being sent to incinerators.  These are not isolated incidents but are increasingly our new normal. What went wrong? Why are we moving backwards on recycling, an important tool for fighting environmental pollution and climate change? And why is plastic to blame?

News Release | U.S. PIRG

CDC estimates at least 35,000 die from drug-resistant infections annually

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its new Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States report, which estimates at least 35,000 Americans die annually from infections that antibiotics can no longer effectively treat.

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Nestle cookie dough recalled, may contain pieces of rubber

Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Chain Reaction V

The Chain Reaction V report grades the top fast food and fast casual chanins on antibiotic use policies for their beef supply chains. 

  • 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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