Last week my cell phone rang, and the caller ID said it was my young son’s afterschool program. I don’t get calls from afterschool, so immediately I thought that my son was sick or hurt. But when I picked up, it was just a robocall, specifically the Chinese consulate scam,…...
Keep Fido happy without breaking the bank
Pet owners love their animals and will do anything to keep them safe and healthy. But even in extreme temperatures, you don’t have to choose between keeping your pet comfortable and minimizing your energy costs. Charlie Charlie’s human: Deputy Director Kristin Use a programmable or smart thermostat. Don’t be afraid…...
The bad water bill is now law. So now what?
Earlier this month Gov. Bruce Rauner signed House Bill 4508 — which means any publicly owned water system in Illinois could now be targeted by profit-driven private water utilities. The bill doubles down on previous legislation that allowed Aqua Illinois and Illinois American Water to impose automatic rate hikes to…...
The fight before FERC, explained
What is capacity, and what does it mean for your ComEd bills? An unusual battle is shaping up before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), one that could undermine Illinois’ energy policy and send ComEd bills skyrocketing if out-of-state fossil-fuel generators get their way. Specifically, they want to change the…...
No net neutrality? Not so fast!
CUB’s Bryan McDaniel speaks at an April 8, 2018 press conference on House Bill 4819 to protect net neutrality in Illinois. “Once we pay Internet providers, we should be able to access all content equally,” he said. As Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai pushes to kill net neutrality…...
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…...
A CUB Buyer’s Guide to LED Bulbs
Lighting accounts for approximately 20 percent of a typical electric bill, so using energy efficient bulbs can result in big savings. If enough people switch to LEDs (light-emitting diodes), by 2027 the U.S. could save about $265 billion, according to a Department of Energy estimate. But how do you choose…...
