State Director, Illinois PIRG; Energy and Utilities Program Director, PIRG
Started on staff: 2002
B.A., Haverford College
Abe Scarr is the director of Illinois PIRG and is the PIRG Energy and Utilities Program Director. He is a lead advocate in the Illinois Capitol and in the media for stronger consumer protections, utility accountability, and good government. In 2017, Abe led a coalition to pass legislation to implement automatic voter registration in Illinois, winning unanimous support in the Illinois General Assembly for the bill. He has co-authored multiple in-depth reports on Illinois utility policy and leads coalition campaigns to reform the Peoples Gas pipe replacement program. As PIRG’s Energy and Utilities Program Director, Abe supports PIRG energy and utility campaigns across the country and leads the national Gas Stoves coalition. He also serves as a board member for the Consumer Federation of America. Abe lives in Chicago, where he enjoys biking, cooking and tending his garden.
Americans are eager to move beyond the shelter-in-place phase of the coronavirus response. But many are still anxious about safety. Public health leaders have laid out our next steps. State and local officials should follow the experts’ advice. The federal government should ensure that they’re able to.
SPRINGFIELD -- Today, the Illinois House Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, & IT Committee heard testimony concerning Right to Repair, House Bill 2026 (Mussman). The bill would require manufacturers to provide access to parts, tools, repair software and repair manuals for electronic devices sold in the state, and is one of many such bills around the country.
In his second State of the Union address, President Donald Trump highlighted, among other topics, the need to rebuild America’s infrastructure and reign in the cost of prescription drugs, two issues with considerable bipartisan support.
The cheapest, cleanest energy is the energy we don’t use in the first place. Whether you care about improving air quality, fending off the worst impacts of global warming, or simply saving money, energy efficiency and conservation are critical.
As McDonald’s executives gathered today for the company’s annual shareholder meeting, consumer and public health groups held an event at McDonald’s headquarters calling on the world’s largest fast food chain to address antibiotic resistance. U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Consumers Union, Food Animal Concerns Trust, and CREDO Action delivered 160,000 petition signatures from consumers across the United States urging McDonald’s to eliminate beef raised with routine antibiotic use from its supply chain.
