By Sagar Dommaraju If you’re looking for a good reason to read your electricity and gas bills, just check out Vicki and Jim Pelton’s story. The retired Ottawa couple overpaid by $1,500, until CUB and a TV station worked to get them a full refund after 17 months of inflated…...
Comcast: Data caps are coming to Chicago
By Sagar Dommaraju Chicago-area Comcast customers will soon face limits to their data usage, as the company expands its nationwide data cap trials. CUB warned the caps might come to Illinois way back in December, when the consumer group asked CUB Action Network members to sign a petition against such restrictions to…...
Join the fight for faster Internet!
By Sagar Dommaraju The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on July 14 on new rules that would open the door to ultra-fast 5G wireless networks Not only could this legislation help spur billions of dollars in economic activity but it could also provide millions of Americans with reliable Internet…...
Give yourself (and your power bill) a relaxing Fourth of July
By Sagar Dommaraju What better holiday than Independence Day to free yourself from high electricity costs. Follow these tips for the perfect Fourth of July weekend. First, take a holiday from the daily bustle and leave your electronics—computers, TVs, phones, printers—alone for the weekend. Make sure to unplug them completely…...
Lessons from my summers in India: Staying cool without breaking the bank
By: Sagar Dommaraju Illinois summers are hot—but they’re nothing compared to the ones I experience when I visit relatives in southern India. Temperatures there easily top 100 degrees, cooling rains rarely fall, and—if you live in a rural village—air conditioning is unavailable at certain peak electricity times. But those stifling…...
Breaking: Net neutrality upheld in federal court
Consumer advocates are celebrating a major victory today. Net neutrality was upheld in federal court. The Washington Post reports (Cable and telecom companies just lost a huge court battle on net neutrality): By a 2-1 vote Tuesday, a federal appeals court upheld a series of strict new rules for Internet providers,…...
Help Julie and Christie fight rate hikes!
CUB has launched its annual consumer campaign in June to rally Illinoisans against billions of dollars in rate hikes. We hope every community in Illinois signs our Rate-hike Fighters Petition. Take a look at the rate-hike battles CUB General Counsel Julie Soderna and Senior Attorney Christie R. Hicks are juggling before…...
