Most grocery store chains are not warning their customers about dangerous food recalls. Find out if your store makes the grade.
Most grocery store chains are not warning their customers about dangerous food recalls. Find out if your store makes the grade.
Consumer Protection
How safe is our food?
From chicken with chunks of metal to romaine lettuce with E. coli, our new report shows contaminated food continues to threaten the health of millions of Americans.
Democracy
A somber anniversary: 10 years after the Citizens United decision
January 15th marked the 10th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, widely blamed for opening the floodgates to special interest spending in our elections. U.S. legislators joined PIRG and other pro-democracy organizations to decry the ongoing harm caused by the ruling—and to highlight the growth of the pro-reform movement.
Consumer Protection
New federal bill will make it easier for consumers to know about unsafe, even deadly products
If you had a product in your home that the government knew could cause injury or death, you'd expect the government to warn you, right? Surprisingly, that's not the case for the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The "Safety Hazard and Recall Efficiency Information Act" seeks to change that.
Consumer Protection
The Trump administration's Consumer Bureau just appointed a task "farce" on consumer law
The Trump administration's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau just appointed a new task force on consumer law — but according to senior director of PIRG's federal consumer program, Ed Mierzwinski, this task force isn't set up to be on the side of consumers. "It is a task farce," he said.
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Illinois PIRG is your advocate for the public interest, speaking out for healthier, safer, more secure lives for all of us.
News & Research
News Release | Illinois PIRG Education Fund
Peoples Gas released its fourth quarter report Tuesday on its troubled pipe replacement program, which was the subject of a highly critical Illinois PIRG Education Fund report last June. Peoples Gas’ own data shows that for the eighth consecutive quarter -- a period that spans every quarterly report on the project -- the program is behind schedule and over budget.
News Release | U.S. PIRG
Congress must hold companies accountable for failing to protect condumers' confidential information.
Blog Post
It’s common-sense: If something you own breaks, you should be able to fix it. But manufacturers don’t see it that way. Instead, they use a set of tactics to block independent repair because they want consumers to have to come to them to do repairs. Right to Repair made considerable progress in 2019, and just a little over a month into 2020, we’re seeing continued momentum.
Blog Post
On Friday, Peoples Gas submitted an engineering study to the Illinois Commerce Commission. The study gives Peoples Gas, the Commission, and the public the first empirical look at the condition of the Peoples Gas distribution system in decades. That’s critically important information as Peoples Gas continues to run its troubled pipe replacement program.
News Release | Illinois PIRG
Facebook announced Wednesday that it had reached a $550 million settlement with plaintiffs over alleged violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), although Facebook has denied any wrongdoing. BIPA, passed in 2008, requires private entities to acquire informed consent before collecting individuals’ biometric information, such as facial recognition scans, thumbprints, or voiceprints.
RESOURCE
Get consumer tips
Our advocates have compiled tips on how to choose a credit card or a bank, how to protect your identity, and more.