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Formation | 1987[1] [2] |
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Type | Advocacy organization |
Location | |
Key people | Abe Scarr (Director) [3] |
Website | illinoispirg |
Illinois Public Interest Research Group (Illinois PIRG) is a non-profit organization that is part of the state PIRG organizations. It works on a variety of political activities, including childhood obesity, reducing the interest on student loans, and closing tax loopholes. [4] [5]
In the United States, Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) are non-profit organizations that employ grassroots organizing, direct advocacy, investigative journalism, and litigation to affect public policy. [6]
Illinois PIRG was founded in 1987, and has offices in Chicago, Springfield, IL, and a national lobbying office in Washington, D.C. called US PIRG. [7]
The PIRGs emerged in the early 1970s on U.S. college campuses. The PIRG model was proposed in the book Action for a Change by Ralph Nader and Donald Ross. [8] Among other early accomplishments, the PIRGs were responsible for much of the Container Container Deposit Legislation in the United States, also known as "bottle bills." [9] [10]