Tag Archives: Lisa Madigan

Illinois Attorney General files lawsuit against Trump Tower for violating clean water laws

Aug 15, 2018 | kimberlykaczmarek

The Illinois attorney general has filed a lawsuit against Trump Tower in Chicago, alleging that it is taking in and releasing millions of gallons of water into the Chicago River without having conducted required studies on pollution or the impact on fish.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan said she filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court. She said that the building takes in almost 20 million gallons of water per day from the river to cool the property’s heating and ventilation systems, and that heated water is later discarded into the river.

Madigan’s office also said that federal law requires “extensive studies of Chicago River fish populations and the impact of the building’s water intake system” and that the property failed to submit study results to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in 2013.

Trump Tower’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit expired on Aug. 31, 2017.

“Trump Tower continues to take millions of gallons of water from the Chicago River every day without a permit and without any regard to how it may be impacting the river’s ecosystem,” Madigan said in a news release. “I filed my lawsuit to make sure Trump Tower cannot continue violating the law.”

Learn more at NBC News.

Lisa Madigan’s office sues electricity supplier for deceptive marketing

Mar 10, 2017 | WLSAM Staff

(CHICAGO) Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office filed a lawsuit Thursday against alternative retail electricity supplier PALMco Power IL LLC for allegedly misleading customers about the true cost of its service.

The suit alleges that Palmco promised customers they would save money on their electric bills by switching to their electric supply, according to a statement from the attorney general’s office.

Starting in at least January 2014, Palmco charged its customers at rates consistently higher than ComEd or Ameren’s rates after the two-month introductory period ended, the attorney general’s office claims. Rates increased to levels that were more than 300 percent of what customers would have paid if they stayed with their utility company.

“Palmco deceived electric customers into switching their provider and paying much more than they should have,” Madigan said in a statement. “Palmco needs to be held accountable for violating the law by misleading people about the true cost of their electricity.

The attorney general’s office alleges that Palmco sales agents misrepresented themselves to consumers during phone and door-to-door sales by claiming they were affiliated with the consumer’s utility, that the consumer’s utility was going out of business or changing its name and that the consumer was required to sign up with Palmco.

Sales agents also violated state law by remaining on the phone while consumers completed the automated third-party verification system used to complete sales, the attorney general’s office said.

The lawsuit will be handled by Springfield Bureau Chief Elizabeth Blackston and Assistant Attorney General Philip Heimlich, the attorney general’s office said.

© Copyright 2017 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

Illinois attorney general convenes summit on Trump orders

Feb 24, 2017 | WLSAM Staff

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has convened legal and civil rights organizations in the wake of what she calls “troubling” executive orders issued by President Donald Trump.

Groups attending Thursday’s summit include Arab American Family Services, the Chicago Urban League and Lambda Legal. Group leaders say they fear escalating hate crimes.

Madigan says orders dealing with immigration threaten America’s “history of inclusion and diversity.” She says that includes a temporary ban on travel from seven predominantly-Muslim countries. The four-term Democrat supported lawsuits against the ban. The ban was blocked in court, but Trump says he’s revising it.

On Thursday, Madigan condemned the Trump administration’s rollback of public school bathroom requirements for transgender students.

Madigan says she backs a proposal that will strengthen Illinois’ hate crime laws .

 

 

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Madigan cautions residents shipping holiday packages overseas

Dec 1, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

(CHICAGO) Illinois residents who send holiday gifts internationally should follow important tips to avoid scams and expensive fees, authorities advise.

“We’ve seen too many instances where people pay excessive fees and packages never arrive because they are ‘lost’ or stolen,” Illinois Attorney Gen. Lisa Madigan in a Better Business Bureau statement Wednesday. “Consumers must investigate a business before shipping their gifts and contact my office or the BBB if their gifts never arrive.”

Before choosing a shipper, check reviews at the Better Business Bureau or call Madigan’s Consumer Fraud Hotline at 1-800-386-5438 to check for complaints. Typically, the larger the company, the more reliable, officials said.

They also recommend shipping early in the season and keeping an inventory of all tracking numbers, confirmations and insurance information.

“The cost of shipping internationally can be steep, especially during the holiday season, but consumers need to be very cautious when they go looking for a great deal, which can leave them disappointed at best or ripped-off at worse,” BBB President Steve J. Bernas said.

© Copyright 2016 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

Madigan addresses voters confused by mail-in ballots

Oct 28, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

(CHICAGO) Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan clarified the voting by mail process after recent complaints by confused voters on Thursday.

Residents are urged to pay close attention to their mail and request a new ballot if it is not received, according to a statement from the Illinois Attorney General’s office and the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Third-party organizations are allowed to send voters applications to receive a mail-in ballot, Madigan said. Also, voters who applied for a mail-in ballot but did not receive one or did not submit it are allowed to vote in-person during the early voting period or on Election Day.

Mailed applications to request a ballot must be received by Nov. 3 and completed ballots must be postmarked and signed by Nov. 8, according to Madigan. Voters may also turn in their vote-by-mail ballot to county election authorities before 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Residents can track down the status of their ballot through county election authorities, Madigan said.

© Copyright 2016 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

Madigan reaches settlement with payday lender for illegal fees

Oct 6, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

(CHICAGO) Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced a settlement Thursday with a northwest suburban Elgin payday lending company that illegally sold loans with hidden interest rates and fees.

The settlement requires All Credit Lenders to pay $3.5 million and “immediately stop offering the revolving line of credit that carried hidden interest rates disguised as ‘required account protection fees’ ranging from 350 percent to more than 500 percent,” according to a statement from Madigan’s office.

All Credit Lenders must stop collecting on loans carrying these fees and waive outstanding balances for thousands of customers, prosecutors said. The company has already paid $200,000 in restitution to borrowers who were unemployed or receiving social security when they received their loan and borrowers who had previously filed complaints with Madigan’s office.

Madigan also reached settlements with five additional Illinois lending companies that offered similar loans, prosecutors said.

“These are egregious violations of the payday reform law we fought to put in place to protect consumers from outrageously expensive loans,” Madigan said in the statement. “All Credit Lenders and these other operators concoct illegal fees and costs, then fail to disclose them, and as a result, consumers end up owing enormous amounts outlawed by our reforms.”

© Copyright 2016 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

Push to End Statute of Limitations on Child Sex Crimes

Oct 4, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

By Jennifer Keiper, WLS-AM 890 News

(CHICAGO) Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan will discuss legislation she is supporting to remove the statute of limitations for child sex abuse crimes. An abuse victim is expected to be by her side when she speaks at 10:30 AM.

It comes in response to the Dennis Hastert case.

The former U.S. House Speaker was charged with violating banking laws but it later came out that the money was being used to silence a victim of sexual abuse. It was abuse that occurred decades ago, when Hastert was a wrestling coach at Yorkville High School and he couldn’t be charged with it because the statute of limitations had run out.

Scott Cross says Hastert abused him and he’s now working with Madigan to get legislation passed.

© WLS-AM 890 News

Lisa Madigan

Aug 18, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

 

Bob Sirott and Marianne Murciano are in for Big John and Ray. They were joined by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who shared a few tips for avoiding fraud.

Big John Howell Show Notes 4-29-16

Apr 29, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

On the heels of the Dennis Hastert case, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan wants to eliminate the statute of limitations for people accused of molesting children. Because he is protected by statute of limitations, Hastert can never be charged with sex abuse and many of the victims will never get justice because their abusers are protected by the same law. Madigan joined John to talk about the proposed change to the law, and also weighed in on regulation of Daily Fantasy Sports websites in Illinois. (Listen here)

Barbara Blaine the founder and President of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) joined John with reaction to the proposal to eliminate the statute of limitations for people accused of molesting children. (Listen here)

Gov. Bruce Rauner said Wednesday that if a bipartisan budget agreement can’t be reached by the end of May, he’d be willing to pay for a special legislative session out of his own pocket to continue negotiations. Rauner added that lawmakers must stay persistent in achieving long-term solutions that consider new forms of revenue and reforms from his “turnaround agenda” to create a balanced budget.

John Boehner left no doubt he’s not a fan of fellow Republican Ted Cruz, leaping off the sidelines of the presidential race to unleash a stunning verbal lashing of the Texas senator, reportedly calling him “Lucifer in the flesh” and a “miserable son of a bitch.” He reportedly said he’s played golf with front-runner Donald Trump, describing them as “texting buddies,” and said his relationship with Ohio Gov. John Kasich “requires more effort” but they’re friends.

SpaceX has announced a new plan to land a spacecraft on Mars. They would send one of their new Dragon 2.0 spacecrafts to Mars in 2018. It would be an unmanned flight, but still the biggest thing ever landed on the Red Planet and would be a dress rehearsal for future manned flights. Tom Jones joined John to talk about the new space project, Tom is a former NASA Astronaut and author of the new book “Ask The Astronaut.” (Listen here)

The Chicago Republican Party has taken down their illegal sign. It wasn’t because it was deemed illegal and they decided to comply with the long arm of the law. It was because a vandal tore the sign. Chris Cleveland says he’ll replace the sign, at a cost of $1500, which is three times the cost of getting it permitted.

In addition to the NFL Draft, next week Chicago is also hosting the James Beard Awards. Chicago Tribune restaurant critic Phil Vettel joined John with a preview. (Listen here)

If you’re looking for something other than the NFL Draft to do this weekend, BaconFest is going on at the UIC Forum this weekend. Seth Zurer one of the co-founders of BaconFest joined John with a preview. (Listen here)

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan

Apr 29, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

On the heels of the Dennis Hastert case, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan wants to eliminate the statute of limitations for people accused of molesting children. Because he is protected by statute of limitations, Hastert can never be charged with sex abuse and many of the victims will never get justice because their abusers are protected by the same law. Madigan joined John to talk about the proposed change to the law, and also weighed in on regulation of Daily Fantasy Sports websites in Illinois.

Complaint: Peoples Gas officials ‘misled’ regulators about cost overruns

Feb 10, 2016 | WLSAM Staff

(CHICAGO) Top officers of Peoples Gas “knowingly misled” state regulators about the ballooning cost of a multibillion-dollar upgrade program to pave the way for a 2015 merger, according to a complaint filed by Attorney General Lisa Madigan and a utility watchdog.

When executives for Peoples and parent company Integrys testified last spring before the Illinois Commerce Commission about the company’s merger with Wisconsin Energy, they repeatedly told commissioners they had no projections on the costs of replacing gas mains in Chicago beyond a publicly announced estimate of $4.5 billion.

In a complaint filed last week to the ICC, Madigan and the Citizens Utility Board say a state audit showed company officials had seen internal reports that the estimated cost— paid for by fees tacked on to Chicagoans’ gas bills— had reached more than $8 billion, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

Madigan and the Citizens Utility Board called on the ICC to again put gas company executives under oath, to find out whether they violated state law by not disclosing the soaring costs of the program utility company’s Accelerated Main Replacement Program.

“This is a program that has not been good for consumers,” said David Kolata, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board. “We need a thorough investigation of who knew what and when they knew it, and what went wrong.”

Kolata said Tuesday that any violation of state law should require Peoples to pay fines, and possibly refund money to customers.

When he testified in May 2015, former Integrys CEO Charles Schrock repeatedly told commissioners the company had not completed cost estimates for the gas main replacement program since 2014, when the company admitted overruns had more than doubled the original price tag of $2.2 million.

In fact, Madigan said state audits showed Schrock and other company officials received a report a month before the hearing that showed costs had climbed to $8 billion. Schrock received $34 million in cash and stock after the merger went through, according to company filings.

A Peoples Gas spokesman did not immediately respond to questions from the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday.

© Copyright 2016 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

Lisa Madigan is out with a legal opinion on how Judy Baar Topinka should be replaced

Dec 15, 2014 |

(Chicago) Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is out with a legal opinion on how the late Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka should be replaced.

Lisa Madigan’s official opinion is that Governor Quinn can appoint a successor to serve until inauguration day January 12th and then Governor Rauner can appoint a successor to serve after that.

Rauner said last week that is  what makes sense, “I’m not an attorney, but it think it’s common sense that I would have that ability.”

But Madigan also thinks we need a new law to limit Rauner’s appointment to serve until the next election.  She’s calling on Quinn and Rauner and the legislature to let the voters elect a new state comptroller in 2016.   

Governor-elect Bruce Rauner issued the following statement:
“It is unfortunate we are even having this discussion less than a week following Judy’s death – now is a time we should be honoring her legacy."
“I appreciate Attorney General Madigan’s thoughtful and thorough review of this matter.  There is now clear bi-partisan agreement that the legal question is settled:  there are two appointments – one to fulfill the remainder of Comptroller Topinka’s term and another to fulfill the term to which Judy was elected on November 4th."
“With less than a month remaining in the current term, I continue to believe the best course of action for the people of Illinois is to maintain continuity in the office and respect the wishes of the Topinka family.”

Bill Cameron, 89 WLS News

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