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.
Streator is a city in LaSalle and partially in Livingston counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city is situated on the Vermilion River approximately 81 miles (130 km) southwest of Chicago, Illinois in the prairie and farm land of north-central Illinois. According to the 2000 U.S. census the population of Streator was 14,190 people. Streator was named for Dr. Worthy S. Streator, an Ohio industrialist who financed the region's first coal mining operation. It was incorporated as a city in 1868. Streator's early growth was due to its success as a coal producer, a major glass manufacturer and a railroad hub in the midwest. Today Streator's economy is led by heavy-equipment manufacturer Vactor, food manufacturer U.S. Foodservice and glass bottle manufacturer Owens-Illinois. The city is the hometown of Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered the dwarf planet Pluto in 1930,, and George "Honey Boy" Evans, who wrote "In the Good Old Summertime. " Streator hosts annual events including the Roamer Cruise Night and the Heritage Days celebration each July 4th. Streator is governed by a Manager–council style of government. It maintains police and fire departments as well as a public works system. The mayor is Ray Schmitt.