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.
Macomb is a city located in McDonough County, Illinois founded in 1830. It is situated in western Illinois southwest of Galesburg at 40°27'38" North, 90°40'27" West (40.460501, -90.674048). As of 2000, the city had a population of 21,659. It is the county seat of McDonough County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.2 square miles, of which, 9.9 square miles (25.5 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) of it is water. The total area is 3.90% water; the East Fork La Moine River flows past the northern part of the city. Macomb is the home of Western Illinois University.