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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Patch Chatter

How Can We Each Fight Gun Violence?

Some politicians have shared their ideas of how to curb gun violence. Now we invite you to jump into the discussion and share your thoughts in the comment section.

As Vice President Joe Biden prepares to meet with the National Rifle Association and other gun-ownership groups for talks at the White House Thursday, many politicians have voiced what they think should be done to curb gun violence.  Among those politicians are several North Shore village mayors and presidents who recently joined Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to call for stronger gun regulation as part of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a coalition aimed at cracking down on illegal guns. The coalition recently aired a commercial featuring Roxanna Green, the mother of one of those killed in the 2011 Tucson shootings, urging people to sign a petition on www.DemandAPlan.org.  Below is a look at how other state and local leaders are taking action in…

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Shop Safe: Your Guide to Recalled Products

Ninety-one kids 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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Neighboring Food Pantries Receive Unexpected, Healthy Bounty

Lawsuit settlement means more nutritious purchases from Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Food pantry shops at the Greater Chicago Food Depository will have an extra $665,000 to buy and stock more staples and items next year that are not donated, like fruits, vegetables, chicken, meat, eggs and milk. The extra cash comes courtesy of a $25 million settlement reached by Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan's office and 22 other states with nearly a dozen vitamin manufacturers who fixed the price of vitamins. A court decision mandated the settlement money be used for "health, nutrition or science," according to a news release. Madigan's office announced Monday the distribution of $1.2 million to regional food banks around the state. The additional money was welcome news to food depository officials, who anticipate an increase in …

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