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Policy/legislation

Spring report from CUB General Counsel Julie Soderna

By Julie Soderna, CUB General Counsel Just wanted to give you an update. The CUB staff and I are swamped with these battles in 2018: Fighting plans pushed by giant power generators to change electricity pricing rules in Washington and potentially raise ComEd bills by hundreds of millions of dollars.…...

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UPDATE: BAD water bill HB 4508 moves to Senate

House Bill 4508 has passed the Illinois House of Representatives and moves to the state Senate. We need your help to defeat this legislation, which allows big water companies to expand while customers foot the bill. CUB opposes this bill: When the nation’s biggest private water companies get their hands…...

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Fight HB 4508 (BAD water bill)

We need your help to defeat House Bill 4508—legislation in Springfield that could raise water rates for a lot of Illinois consumers. Back in 2013, the General Assembly passed legislation that allowed the state’s biggest private water companies (Illinois American Water and Aqua Illinois) to automatically raise their existing customers’…...

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CUB, AARP Illinois call for sweeping reforms of electric and gas markets in Illinois

This week, CUB held news conferences across the state (Chicago, Rockford, Peoria, Alton and Champaign) calling on the General Assembly to pass sweeping reforms to protect customers from a wave of electric and gas rip-offs that we have seen in the market over the last few years. These are some…...

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Support HB 4819: The fight for net neutrality moves to Illinois

We’ve all read the grim headlines: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ordered “net neutrality” rules to end on April 23. That’s bad news because those consumer protections help keep the Internet affordable and uncensored. But the good news is we have a chance to save net neutrality in Illinois—if…...

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Report from Springfield, by Bryan McDaniel, CUB director of governmental affairs

This is one of my busiest times of the year in Springfield. But I wanted to send you a quick note about one piece of pro-consumer legislation we support in the General Assembly’s spring session. Legislation: House Bill 5101, sponsored by Rep. Marcus C. Evans, Jr., of Chicago PROBLEM: *A state…...

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Stop spending abuses by Peoples Gas: Fight for HB 4898

CUB, AARP Illinois and Illinois PIRG this week held a news conference about the mismanagement and spiraling costs associated with a Peoples Gas plan to replace aging pipes underneath the city. How bad is it? An analysis by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan found that if the program isn’t changed…...

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News Release: Proposed State Law Aims to Quash Spending Abuses by Peoples Gas in Bloated Pipe Replacement Program

A new bill pending in the Illinois General Assembly would eliminate the mechanism Peoples Gas has used to bankroll a pipe-replacement program widely decried for its rampantly escalating cost estimates and chronic waste and mismanagement. The proposed measure, championed by AARP Illinois, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), and Illinois PIRG,…...

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The new tax law and your utility bills

We want to update you on an issue that’s important to your utility bills — and let you take action. You’ve seen the headlines about a change in federal tax law that led to a reduction in the corporate tax rate. But did you know that should lower your 2018…...

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CUB Advocacy Item: Tell White House its tariff is bad for solar, bad for consumers

The White House this week announced a 30% tariff on imported solar panels. The tariff reportedly will decrease by 5% over a four-year span, ending at 15% in 2022. This decision will needlessly raise the cost of solar panels, which could stall or kill solar projects that help stabilize the…...

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