Illinois

Starline Inc., Grand Island, N.Y., announced the hiring of DeChelle Lauria as its regional sales manager of the midwest central territory, which includes Illinois, Indiana and southern Wisconsin.

Sunjoy Group Inc., the Illinois-based supplier, has moved to a new location. The company has a new phone number, but its fax number, website and email addresses remain the same.

TRG Group, located in St. Louis, has hired Stephen Bell as its new Midwest region manager. Bell will be responsible for sales in the states of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.

Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed a bill Sunday that would have required plastic bag manufacturers to set up collection and recycling programs, calling it a "roadblock" for local communities to make their own choices.

The proposed law says manufacturers must set up recycling programs with the goal of increasing the recycling rate by 12 percent by 2015 and to eventually make bags from at least 30 percent recycled content. It also would have required manufacturers to register with Illinois officials, as retail stores would have been able to use bags only from registered manufacturers.

West Hollywood, Calif., has banned single-use plastic carryout bags, bringing the number of plastic bag bans in the U.S. to 81. The ban will go into effect in late February 2013 for retail stores with 10,000 or more square feet, and six months after that for all other retailers.

In addition to the 81 plastic bag bans nationwide, three other U.S. communities—Montgomery County, Md.; Aspen, Colo., and Washington, D.C.—have taxes on plastic carryout bags.

Separately, a plastic bag recycling bill in Illinois has yet to be signed by Gov. Pat Quinn with the Aug. 28 deadline for his decision fast approaching.

EVER SINCE PRODUCT recalls hit the promotional and retail sectors this past summer, Proposition 65 has been the watchword on the lips of both suppliers and distributors. With the start of the 2008 trade show season, the sense of greater awareness became especially evident. “Prop 65 compliant” signage is more prominently displayed. Education programs on the law are offered. And suppliers are adopting product designations and new testing procedures to ensure they’re keeping pace with Prop 65, which is said to be the most strict product-safety law in the country. Otherwise known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986,