Illinois Public Interest Research Group Citizen Agenda: An Update For Members Of Illinois PIRG

Winter 2018 • Vol. 27, No. 3

Find links to resources and actions at www.illinoispirg.org C-SPAN Identity Theft After Equifax, What’s Next? On Sept. 7, 2017, the reality of our Our state staff are working on simi- modern financial system became lar efforts to pass freeze bills here in clearer than ever before when the Illinois, and in other states includ- credit bureau Equifax announced ing California and Massachusetts. that it had been hacked, potentially compromising the personal data We’re going to keep getting the media of 143 million Americans (later to cover this important story, and send updated to 145.5 million). critical resources to the people who are most likely to be affected by identity Since then, our advocates, both theft as a result of the data breach—in- nationwide and at the state level, cluding members of the armed forces, have worked to persuade Equifax, senior citizens and students. ON BEHALF OF CONSUMERS—After the Equifax breach, our consumer Congress and state lawmakers to advocate Mike Litt went on C-SPAN to alert the public about how to take stronger action to protect With your support, we won’t let up protect themselves, and then went on to testify before Congress in favor consumers from identity theft until Equifax is held fully responsible of free credit freezes. and fraud. and consumers have strong protections against identity theft in place. n According to research by Illinois PIRG Education Fund, it would cost consumers an estimated $4.1 Consumer Protection billion to freeze their credit reports at all three agencies in states where fees are charged. Standing Up For Our Member Resources We did not give the credit bureaus OLDER CONSUMERS permission to collect our informa- Consumer Watchdog AT RISK tion, sell it or, in the case of Equifax, Read our analysis of lose it. So why should we have to Six years ago, Illinois PIRG helped lizing more than 60,000 citizens to sign more than 72,000 pay to control access to our reports? create the Consumer Financial Pro- our petition to Congress. financial complaints tection Bureau to make sure banks submitted by and financial companies treat us In November, when Richard Cordray older consumers Consumers Need Control fairly and play by the rules. Since stepped down as director of the to the CFPB: That’s why our national network then, the bureau has returned nearly Consumer Bureau and the president www.illinoispirg.org has led the push for free credit $12 billion to ripped-off consumers. named staunch CFPB opponent freezes for all Americans. When Mick Mulvaney as acting director, Congress held hearings to investi- Yet President Trump and some in Con- we doubled down on our efforts to gate Equifax’s wrongdoing, Illinois gress are trying to strip away vital con- ensure the agency stays strong and PIRG advocates Ed Mierzwinski sumer protections, and even eliminate independent. With support from and Mike Litt testified in support the Consumer Bureau. That’s why we members like you, we’ll fight tooth and of stronger consumer protections, knocked on more than 300,000 doors nail to ensure this important agency Page 1 n including free credit freezes. across the country last summer, mobi- continues to thrive in the future. Winter 2018 News Briefs

Democracy Republican legislators and more The third annual Chain Reaction broadly with the public,” Scarr said. report, which grades companies Automatic Voter on their antibiotics policies and With the bill’s passage, Illinois be- practices, found that while restau- Registration Signed Into Law came the first state with a Republi- rant chains made great progress on More Illinois residents will be able to can governor to sign automatic voter chicken, there were no new com- make their voices heard on Election registration into law, and Scarr said mitments to limit antibiotic use in Day thanks to an automatic voter the bill’s bipartisan support makes beef and pork. registration bill signed into law by it a model for legislation elsewhere. Gov. Bruce Rauner in August. With support from our members, “Not only will this law have pos- we’ll continue encouraging the The bill, which will add eligible itive benefits for Illinois residents, largest chains in these industries to voters to the voting rolls when they it also creates opportunities to pass act to protect public health. n interact with state agencies like more reforms with bipartisan sup- the Department of Motor Vehicles, port, and for other states to embrace Consumer Protection marks a huge victory for voting automatic voter registration in a rights advocates. bipartisan fashion,” Scarr said. Protecting Student But our in-state work on automatic Borrowers voter registration won’t end when The student borrowers of Illinois the law goes into effect. have a friend in Illinois PIRG.

“Passing a law is not the end of a This year, we worked with Attorney campaign; it’s an opportunity and General Lisa Madigan and other

Office of the Cook County Clerk so it’s very important to us that we student and consumer advocates stay engaged with the implementing to pass the Illinois Student Loan Bill agencies,” Scarr said. “We’re very ex- of Rights—bipartisan legislation cited and proud of where we’ve got- that aims to prevent borrowers ten to but it’s not done until the law from being misled or ignored by goes into effect and has the outcomes the companies that service their that we’ve promised and advocated student loans. for during the last two years.” VICTORY FOR VOTERS—Illinois PIRG Director Abe Scarr speaks at “Illinois borrowers deserve accu- the bill signing for automatic voter registration. Public Health rate information about their loans and what options they have to pay them back,” said Illinois PIRG Di- “Our democracy works best when We’re Making Progress On rector Abe Scarr. everyone participates, and we Protecting Antibiotics should do everything possible to Fourteen of the top 25 chain restau- The legislation, which will go into make voting simple and acces- rants in the U.S. have taken steps to effect at the close of December 2018, sible,” said Illinois PIRG Director restrict the routine use of antibiotics aims to address widespread abuses Abe Scarr. “Automatic voter regis- in the chicken they serve, according and service failures in the student tration strengthens our democracy.” to a scorecard released in Septem- loan industry—and to return agency ber by U.S. PIRG Education Fund to Illinois residents working to repay Illinois PIRG served as the primary and our allies. their student loans. n advocate for Just Democracy Illinois, which pushed for passage of automatic voter registration for more than two years. On behalf of our partners, we de- veloped a legislative strategy, served as issue expert, and led negotiations with legislators and the governor’s office.

Scarr told the Huffington Post the new law will not only get more people to the polls—it will save money and significantly improve the accuracy and security of voter rolls.

Page 2 “It was often the accuracy and secu- Winter 2018 rity message that worked both with Staff Toy Safety Protecting Children From Dangerous Products We need to protect our youngest “Our leaders and consumer watch- consumers from unsafe toys. For dogs need to do more to protect our more than 30 years, Illinois PIRG youngest consumers from the haz- Education Fund has worked hard ards of unsafe toys. No child should to identify toys that threaten our ever be injured, get sick or die from children, call on manufacturers playing with a dangerous toy,” said and regulators to take important Dev Gowda, toxics advocate with actions, and inform parents and Illinois PIRG Education Fund. caregivers of the dangers that could be in their homes. In a victory for consumers, the CPSC banned toxic phthalate chem- icals in children’s products in Octo- RESEARCH THAT LEADS TO RESULTS—Thanks to the independent Lead In Fidget Spinners ber. Illinois PIRG Education Fund research our members help fund, we were able to identify and call Last fall, our researchers made a has been calling on the CPSC to attention to dangerous levels of lead in certain fidget spinner models particularly alarming discovery ban these phthalates for several sold by Target. when we tested fidget spinners for years and applauds the CPSC for lead: We found two fidget spinners its new rule. from Target that had up to 300 times the legal limit for lead in Visit toysafetytips.org to read our children’s products. full Trouble In Toyland report. n

We immediately called on Target to remove the toxic spinners from its website and stores, and spread the Thanks To You word through major media outlets, including CBS and The Washington Post. Within days of releasing our Dear Illinois PIRG member, test results, Target removed the two We’ve always stood up for everyday Americans when fidget spinners from its shelves. their health or well-being is at risk, and the last few months were no different. Now, the Consumer Product Safety After Equifax was hacked, Illinois PIRG Education Commission (CPSC), Target and the Fund immediately got information into consumers’ manufacturer Bulls i Toy need to hands on how to protect themselves, and Illinois PIRG ensure that these two fidget spinners led the call for free credit freezes for all. After Illinois PIRG Education are fully recalled. Fund research found high levels of lead in fidget spinners, Target agreed to stop selling them. After the devastating hurricanes, we called on officials 32nd Annual Toy Report to do more to clean up toxic spills and flooded Superfund sites. In November, Illinois PIRG Educa- But we’re not just responding to these threats; we’re building a better tion Fund released our 32nd annual future that works for all Americans. Trouble In Toyland report, which We want to live in a world where we don’t need to worry about being found that stores nationwide are tricked or trapped by financial companies, where our food systems don’t still offering dangerous toys and, depend on the widespread use of pesticides in fields or the routine use of in some cases, ignoring explicit antibiotics on farms, and where Americans across the political spectrum government safety regulations in can find common ground to make progress for all. the process. We’re so grateful for all that you’ve done to support our work, and we’re In addition to exposing fidget spin- excited to see what we can do next. ners full of lead, the report found Sincerely, inadequately labeled toys and bal- loons that pose a choking hazard, and data-collecting toys that may violate children’s privacy and other consumer protection laws. We also Abe Scarr, Director provided a list of toys that have [email protected] Page 3 been recalled over the past year. Winter 2018 Illinois PIRG 328 S. Jefferson St., Ste. 620 Chicago, IL 60661 (312) 544-4433

CITIZEN AGENDA VOLUME 27, NO. 3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: After Equifax, What’s Next? • Automatic Voter Registration Signed Into Law • Protecting Children From Dangerous Products

Toxics sumikophoto

Working To Illinois PIRG’s Mission When consumers are cheated or the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned Ban Bee-Killing out by special interest lobbyists, Illinois PIRG speaks up and takes action. We uncover threats to public health and well-being and fight to end them, using Pesticides the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots or- Bees are dying at unprecedented rates, with ganizing, advocacy and litigation. Illinois real consequences for our food supply, en- PIRG’s mission is to deliver persistent, vironment and economy. We rely on bees to result-oriented public interest activism that protects consumers, encourages a pollinate $15 billion worth of crops every fair, sustainable economy, and fosters year—everything from almonds to strawber- responsive, democratic government. ries to the alfalfa used to feed dairy cows. A SMALL POLLINATOR, A BIG PROBLEM— Citizen Agenda Credits Last fall, our Editor: That’s why Illinois PIRG launched our Ban national network launched a multi-state public education Abe Scarr Bee-Killing Pesticides campaign last fall, going and advocacy campaign to convince governors to ban door to door and email inbox to inbox to edu- bee-killing pesticides. Editorial Director: cate and engage our supporters to take action Richard J. Hannigan to save bees and our food supply. the use of more than 40 percent of insecticides Contributors: used in this country, giving bees a better Liam Brennan and Jenny Hinkle With support from our members, we’re chance to survive. Furthermore, that kind calling for Illinois to ban bee-killing pesti- of collective action will be a strong signal to Layout: cides like neonicotinoids, and our national large chemical companies and to the federal Alec Meltzer network is doing the same in other states. If government that the public wants to limit the Printed on recycled paper enough states take action, we will eliminate use of bee-killing pesticides. n