(800) 669-5556

Updates

What do you need to know about the upcoming solar eclipse?

What’s happening?  On Monday, Aug. 21, a total solar eclipse will pass over the continental U.S. for the first time since 1979—and a 70-mile swath of Southern Illinois (including Carbondale, Carterville, Makanda and Waterloo) will be among the nation’s best places to see it. In fact, the Makanda area will…...

Read more

Your landline stories

Over the past couple of months, CUB has been collecting your stories about why you need to keep traditional landline service an option in Illinois. Here are some of the hundreds of messages we’ve received: My landline gives me an extra feeling of security. Cellphones are great when out but…...

Read more

Don’t fall for these energy efficiency myths

There’s a lot of information out there about what you should do to keep your home more efficient. Unfortunately, a lot of it is untrue or misleading. Here are some of the most common or misleading energy efficiency myths CUB found, so you can avoid the mistakes and still save…...

Read more

Scott overwhelmed by support from CUB members, staff

Scott Allen, CUB’s environmental outreach coordinator in Hillsboro, knew he had a tough road to recovery after a harrowing collision with a semi-truck. But the avid runner has put in the time at physical therapy, for a quicker return to the trails—and work. “The doctors told me that it would…...

Read more

Does Illinois support cable reforms?

Answer our quick poll and next week we’ll share the results with Illinois’ Congressional delegation. Do you want Congress to pass a “Pay TV Customer’s Bill of Rights,” including the following reforms:     Requiring Pay TV companies to offer a basic, low-cost package. Reducing or eliminating excessive charges, such as cable…...

Read more

Speak up: Fight Ameren’s attack on energy efficiency

This week, CUB sent out a special e-newsletter to alert you to a new threat to energy efficiency that has the potential to raise Illinois power bills. What happened? Just months ago Illinois passed the Future Energy Jobs Act that requires the state’s biggest utilities to reduce electricity waste more…...

Read more

Are you cooling an empty home? There’s a solution

Amid the hottest month of the year, consumer advocates joined with Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) and the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to make Chicago-area consumers aware that cooling an empty home while they are away at work or on vacation can cause summer energy bills to soar at a news conference…...

Read more

New state report: $340 million in consumer losses with alternative suppliers

More than 1 in 5 Northern Illinois electric customers are signed up to get their electric supply from a company other than Commonwealth Edison, and many are paying more than they need to. A recent report shows that over the last year households using alternative suppliers paid a total of…...

Read more

State Capitol Update: LIHEAP and solar funds saved!

  CUB wants to thank those of you who took action to protect two excellent state programs: Illinois Solar for All and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). A few weeks ago, funding for those programs was in danger of being “swept”—or used for different purposes in the…...

Read more

Quick poll: Robocall update

ROBOCALLS UPDATE: Major developments since April, when we sent federal regulators 2,900 petition signatures urging them to fight “spoofed” robocalls. (Robocalls that alter Caller ID to get you to pick up.) This summer, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed its highest fine ever ($120 million) against a robocall scheme. Get this:…...

Read more