Illinois Gets $1 Million of Toyota Settlement For Acceleration Hazard

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan joined the multi-state $29 million settlement with Toyota Motor Corporation over its failure to alert motorists to dangerous acceleration safety defects.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan today joined a $29 million, multi-state settlement with Toyota Motor Corporation over its failure to alert motorists to dangerous safety defects that caused millions of vehicles to unintentionally accelerate. “In spite of the evidence that millions of vehicles had serious defects, Toyota continued to promote and sell cars that put its customers in great danger,” Madigan said. Madigan and the states allege Toyota officials were aware of the defects that caused millions of its vehicles, including the Camry, Corolla and Prius, to unintentionally accelerate but failed to alert the public and continued to market and advertise Toyota vehicles as safe. The defects led to wide-ranging recalls of its vehicles in late …

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Madigan Seeks Full Appellate Court Review of Conceal Carry Ruling

No determination of when the 10-judge panel will decide whether to look at last year's decision.

Illinois' attorney general Lisa Madigan has asked the entire 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to review a December ruling that overturned the state's ban on the concealed carry of handguns in public. The Chicago Tribune reports that the move is aimed at challenging the decision by a three-judge panel of the court, which ruled 2-1 that the state's longtime ban violated the Second Amendment. If the court accepts the petition, the case would be reviewed by all 10 appellate judges. If the court rejects the petition, Madigan would have to decide whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. "In ruling that Illinois must allow individuals to carry ready-to-use firearms in public, the 7th Circuit Court’s decision goes beyond what the U.S. Supreme …

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Patch on Politics

Pat Quinn: Worst Governor in One of America's Worst-Run States

Take the Patch Poll: Does Pat Quinn deserve re-election or would you put another Democrat on the ballot in 2014?

Pat Quinn is so unpopular, according to a recent Public Policy Polling survey, that Lisa Madigan and Bill Daley would easily beat him in a Democratic primary while Kirk Dillard and Dan Rutherford would topple him in the general election. Quinn says he's going to run for re-election in 2014, but as 2012 comes to an end only 25 percent of Illinois voters approve of the job he's doing as governor. Public Policy Polling says 64 percent of voters disapprove of Quinn's performance — "making him the most unpopular governor PPP has polled on anywhere in the country this year." And there seems to be good reason for that. Last week, 24/7 Wall St. published a ranking of all 50 states, and Illinois emerges as the third-worst-run state in America, …

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Bill Would Help Poor Stay Out of Jail for Unpaid Debt

Here is a wrap-up of some of the latest political news.

Lawmakers in Springfield are pushing to make it harder to jail poor people who miss court dates or are found in contempt of court as they struggle with unpaid debts—an aggressive practice that got worse, some say, during the recession, according to an Associated Press report posted on BusinessWeek.com. Debt collectors have become so aggressive in some parts of Illinois, according to the news report, that they commonly use taxpayer-financed courts, sheriff's deputies and county jails to squeeze poor people who fall behind on small payments of $25 or $50 a month. HB 5434, the Debtors’ Rights Act of 2012, would require court appearance notices to be served to a debtor's home, rather than merely mailed. It would require arrest warrants to …

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Shop Safe: Your Guide to Recalled Products

Ninety-one children products have been recalled this year. Are any on your shopping list?

Though most recalled toys are yanked from store shelves, some find their way onto resale websites and eventually into the home. If you're shopping for holiday gifts online, it's something to keep in mind. To help diminish the risk of allowing a defunct or dangerous product into your household, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has once again issued her Safe Shopping Guide, a 42-page PDF document packed with photos and product descriptions of products recalled in 2011. It's available at the Illinois Attorney General's website and is attached here as a PDF. “This guide is an easy-to-use resource for parents who are already busy enough without monitoring the dizzying number of recalls and dangerous products. I encourage everyone to use …

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Mike Sandrolini

12:28 pm on Thursday, December 1, 2011

Good reminders in this story, Casey. Never gave much thought to how potentially dangerous those button batteries can be, if swallowed.   more ›

Lawmakers Sound Off on Budget, Redistricting at Chamber Event

A lawsuit might not be far off.

Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-24th, Westmont) called political map drawing the root of all evil. Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican, was one of several legislators to speak to chamber of commerce members during a breakfast sponsored by the Elmhurst, Downers Grove and Lisle chambers. State lawmakers, including Dillard and fellow Sens. Ron Sandack (R-21st, Downers Grove), Christine Radogno (R-41st, Lemont) and John Millner (R-28th, Carol Stream), were joined by DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin at the Double Tree Hotel in Downers Grove to discuss the Illinois budget and new political maps. The legislative panel, all Republicans, was critical of the map drawing process. Because the new maps heavily favor Democratic candidates, Sandack called the maps the…

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How to Patch

Three Ways to Get Involved With Government

Local politicians are more accessible than ever; keep them accountable.

Looking to set some attainable New Year's resolutions? Start with having an active role in your local government.  Patch compiles the three easiest ways to stay aware and stay involved. 1. Attend open government meetings The village board of trustees, planning and zoning board commission, park district, school district and township meet at regular monthly intervals. Most meetings last around an hour, depending on the length of the agenda and amount of public comment. Resolution: Attend one meeting each month, or read meeting minutes. How: Know where meeting information is posted—besides the village hall bulletin board! Village board and planning and zoning commission meetings begin at 7 p.m. in the village hall board room on Mondays and …

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UPDATE: Attorney General's Public Access Office Processing Open Meetings Act Complaints

The public access office is reviewing three requests for review made against the Lisle township board of trustees and village government.

Update: 8:39 a.m., Jan. 11 The Chicago Sun-Times reports on an Open Meetings Act request from the same meeting in question (Oct. 13). See their full story here, and why township clerk Tarulis likened a Naperville resident to the person who shot U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.   Update: 4:10 p.m., Dec. 10 According to a letter issued from the Attorney General's office to the village's FOIA officer, Kristen Curran, the public access office determined that the village was in fact within its rights to withhold certain documents related to the 2600 Warrenville TIF. The Freedom of Information Act states that documents that contain personal opinion or have not been publicy cited are exempt from FOIA requests.   Original story: Patch followed up on …

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The Long, Bumpy Road From Fort Wayne to Lisle

Navistar finally made a deal with the village to move administrative operations to the former Alcatel-Lucent building on Warrenville Road. What did it take to actually get here?

Manufacturing giant Navistar is definitely coming to town, but the company experienced several bumps in the road on the way. After nearly a year of meetings and revised proposals, company executives decided this spring they'd rather shop around for a more supportive community. The intervention of concerned residents, Gov. Pat Quinn and Attorney General Lisa Madigan this summer brought the company, new residents and new jobs to the Chicago area. Patch takes a look at each up and down, based on published reports and documents presented by Navistar. July 2009: Navistar announces its intentions to relocate its operations to the vacant Alcatel-Lucent space on Warrenville Road. September 2009: Navistar officials attend the first in a series of …

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