Consumer protection refers to the laws designed to aid retail consumers of goods and services that have been improperly manufactured, delivered, performed, handled, or described. Such laws provide the retail consumer with additional protections and remedies not generally provided to merchants and others who engage in business transactions, on the premise that the consumers do not enjoy a sufficient bargaining position with respect to the businessmen with whom they deal and therefore should not be strictly limited by the legal rules that govern recovery for damages among businessmen. The overarching goal is to protect individuals and the interest of the public in general from unfair and misleading activity in business and commerce (such as false advertising and deceptive trade practices) and scams perpetrated by criminals (such as identity theft and pyramid schemes) that harm a substantial number of consumers.
Chester is a city located on the bluffs of the Mississippi River Valley in Randolph County, Illinois. The population was 8,400 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Randolph County and is located 63 miles (101 km) south of St. Louis, Missouri. With Chester being the county seat, the elected county officials are Terry Luehr-Board Member, Terry Moore-Chairman, Ken Slavens-Board Member, Randall Rodewald-State's Attorney, Randy Dudenbostel-Coroner, Fred Frederking-Sheriff, Shirlie Robinson-Treasurer, Wayne Voss-County Supervisor Of Assessments, Pat Laramore-County Clerk, and Barbara Brown-Circuit Clerk </ref>