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.
East Dubuque is a city in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,995 at the 2000 census. East Dubuque is located alongside the Mississippi River. Across the river is the city of Dubuque, Iowa. About three miles north of the city is the Illinois - Wisconsin border. East Dubuque was originally known as Dunleith. The main roads in East Dubuque are Sinsinawa Avenue and U.S. Route 20 (Wall Street). The Julien Dubuque Bridge serves as the connection between East Dubuque and Dubuque. Illinois Route 35 serves as the primary connection between East Dubuque and Wisconsin. The community is known for the number of bars located along Sinsinawa Ave. These establishments are quite popular during the weekend because East Dubuque's mandatory closing time for bars - 3:30am - is later than that of Dubuque's. This does lead to problems with public intoxication, drunk driving, and related disturbances. Additional law enforcement is usually assigned to patrol that part of the city. The city has announced that it is making bars close earlier. In general the business community has opposed this as they claim that a large percentage of their revenue comes in after midnight. At one time, the Silver Eagle Casino was located in East Dubuque. The casino eventually went bankrupt because of competition from riverboat and land based operations in Dubuque. The Silver Eagle's casino license was given to another operation. The city council is considering asking the state to allow for another casino operation to be located in East Dubuque. The Silver Eagle's dockside facilities were eventually purchased by a local man and turned into an events center for parties and meetings. Because of the proximity of East Dubuque to the Mississippi river, the city has at times flooded, particularly in the low lying areas near the river.