How to seek consumer protection from the attorney general

'... BOB has also forced state agencies to take a serious look at how well they are spending taxpayer dollars'

Illinois budgeting are such terms as "PPBS," "program budget," "MBO," and "zero-base." Skeptics have questioned the value of the BOB and the utility of the methods which it has introduced. Critics charge that the Bureau has further centralized power in the governor's office in an age when executive power should be shared with the legislature. The introduction of program budgeting, they argue, could not possibly be worth the paperwork, manpower, and valuable time.

BOB: a change agent
There can be no doubt that the creation of the Bureau of the Budget has resulted in greater gubernatorial control over other institutions in state government. But BOB has also forced state agencies to take a serious look at how well they are spending taxpayer dollars. It has done this by requiring agencies to relate the expenditures of revenues to the accomplishment of planned objectives. There are still weaknesses in this process, but one thing is certain — Illinois state agencies are doing program analysis. They are describing expected results, measuring whether they were achieved, and examining the impact of services.

That the BOB is responsible for this more planned and rational method of budgeting state expenditures should come as no surprise. The Bureau was created by a governor who felt that since he was held accountable by the voters of Illinois for the state's financial plan, he should have more control over it. As governors grapple with complex, controversial, and costly programs such as mental health, corrections, public aid, and transportation, they need management tools to get the state more for its money. The BOB has provided these tools.

YOU THINK you've been defrauded. What can you do? You can enlist the help of the consumer fraud division of the Attorney General's (AG) Office, says George Shafer, chief of the downstate consumer protection bureau. Any consumer may seek help from any of the consumer protection offices around the state.

Residents of Cook County and the five surrounding counties — Kane, DuPage, Will, McHenry, and Lake-can apply to an Attorney General's branch office in their county, says Shafer, adding that some are staffed with personnel who speak the foreign language that might be used in that area. The rest of the state is covered by the AG's office in Springfield and branch offices located in Rockford, Rock Island, Peoria, Alton, Charleston, East St. Louis, Carbon-dale, Rantoul, and Bloomington.

What can the AG do? "We have the right to ask for civil forfeitures of up to $50,000, and the power to conduct investigations both formal and informal in which we can call witnesses and anything of an evidentiary nature," Shafer explained. Every month about 2,700 new files of suspected consumer fraud are opened in the AG's office, and Shafer says the office is responsible for returning about $270,000 a month in cancelled checks, negotiated cash settlements, or actual cash refunds.

To file a complaint, a consumer can call, write, or visit any AG's consumer protection office around the state where he will be given a complaint form. The consumer is asked to fill in details of the suspected fraudulent transaction, and supply photo copies of supporting documents such as cancelled checks and contracts. The complaint is then forwarded to the branch office nearest the business against which the complaint is filed. "From there on, there is no set rule on the handling of the complaint," Shafer explained.

"Most of the time we deal with rnis-takes, computer errors, and breakdowns in communication between the consumer and the producer," Shafer said. "I would say under 15 percentof the cases we handle are founded in hard-core fraud," he said, describing hard-core fraud as not just violations of the Consumer Protection Act but alsoa possible violation of the Illinois criminal code.

If the AG's office does not have any jurisdiction over the complaint, it attempts to determine if there is a governmental agency with jurisdiction and then forwards all correspondence to that agency. There are a small number of cases where the only redress the consumer has is through a civil proceeding in the courts, Shafer said, "but we help the consumer find legal help if necessary."

If a complaint is against an out-of-state business, the AG's office can subpoena the firm and hold a hearing, or seek a court order to prevent them from doing business in Illinois should they fail to comply with the subpoena. "But if we're unsuccessful in taking action, we will forward the complaint to the attorney general's office in the state the firm is based in," Shafer said-Despite the fact that the number of consumer complaints reaching the AG's office is growing each year, Shafer says he does not feel this reflects an increase in actual consumer fraud, but means that more and more Illinois residents are becoming aware that they can seek help if they feel they've been defrauded.

CRAIG SANDERS
A graduate student in political studies at Sangamon State University, Sanders covered student and faculty government as a student editor of the Eastern News at Eastern Illinois State University wherehe graduated in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in political science.

80 /Illinois Issues/March 1975