Our Platform
Our organization, campaigns, and actions are informed by a commitment to our values of equity, equality, diversity, and inclusion. We seize opportunities to bring about racial, gender, economic, and climate justice. We strive to be intentional and humble as we seek to create a community in which all members’ experiences are valued and voices are heard. These values undergird our desire to fight against racist and xenophobic policies that undermine the promise of democracy and the human need for connection and dignity.
ECONOMIC JUSTICE
We believe that government should raise revenue from the wealthiest individuals and big corporations in order to fund vital services like public schools, human services, affordable housing, and investing in our infrastructure. We believe that this funding should be allocated with equity in mind, and redress the historic economic and social injustice suffered by people of color and other minoritized communities. Illinois and cities around the state rely too heavily on regressive revenue sources which overburden working- and middle-class people while under-taxing the rich and further oppressing the impoverished. Progressive taxation and investments in the common good will help achieve racial justice by calling on wealthy, majority white people to pay their fair share and investing in communities of color.
BANKING AND REINVESTMENT
We believe government should regulate our financial institutions and hold them accountable to equitable investment in communities across our state. Equitable investment means investing in those that have been historically disenfranchised and lacked access to capital. We believe our federal government must modernize and strengthen the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA – federal anti-redlining law) and apply it to non-bank institutions including mortgage companies, financial technology companies, and credit unions. We believe communities directly affected by historic disinvestment should have a voice in holding these financial institutions accountability and determining how new investments should be used.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
We believe that housing is a human right, and we need to hold developers and our government accountable to fund affordable housing and regulate the market to put people over profit. We believe that preserving and maintaining affordable housing is an investment in our communities that will allow working class people, seniors, people with disabilities, people of color, LGBTQ folks, and and people with limited access to resources to remain in their homes and communities. We are part of the national campaign for a Homes Guarantee.
POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY
We believe that everyone deserves to be safe wherever they live. We believe in divesting from the police and investing those resources in our communities. We believe in alternatives to policing to move to a more equitable system. As we build those alternatives, we must make sure that our police department acts with accountability and transparency, particularly when it comes to the relationships and interactions between law enforcement and communities of color. Every city must have a mechanism for civilians to hold the police accountable.
CLIMATE
We believe our cities, state and country must move off fossil fuels in the timeline demanded by science and do it in a way that:
- Creates an equitable green new economy – jobs that prioritize Black, Indigenous and other People of Color and others who have historically been left out of every other economic boom
- Avoids “false solutions” – False solutions are anything that perpetuates the use of fossil fuels or further exacerbates the climate crisis and pollution, such as carbon sequestration, gas as a “bridge” fuel, or carbon taxes that create sacrifice zones for BIPOC and low income neighborhoods.
IMMIGRATION
We believe all immigrants, regardless of immigration status, should live without fear of family separation, arrest or deportation. We believe our state and municipalities should adopt meaningful laws and/or ordinances prohibiting state/local law enforcement cooperation with federal ICE enforcement/deportation activities.
EDUCATION
We believe in quality public education for all children. We believe that teachers of color add value through continuity and cultural competency. We believe in parent leadership and participation. We believe the public education system should be well funded allowing teachers, parents and children to receive the respect and support they deserve. We believe that teachers, not policy makers, are the best judge of what constitutes a quality education and a nurturing, inclusive environment for all of their students regardless of color, gender, identity, or immigration status.
MENTAL HEALTH JUSTICE
We believe that our government is responsible for providing accessible, quality mental health services that allow each person living with mental illness to live their lives with dignity and joy and with as much independence as they choose.
VIOLENCE PREVENTION VIA COMMUNITIES PARTNERING FOR PEACE (CP4P)
We believe that effective solutions to community challenges require residents’ active support and engagement. Through CP4P, we engage in the solutions to gun violence while forging stronger relationships between community members and increasing access to resources. Our CP4P program is an important alternative to policing that centers community restoration and a trauma informed response.
DEMOCRACY
We believe that people should have the power to fully participate in the decisions that affect their lives. Currently, our political system is dominated by big money and special interests. This imbalance continually favors wealthy elites and routinely fails to deliver policies that address the needs and aspirations of everyday people from all walks of life. These consequences are particularly acute for working class people, communities of color, and others who are underrepresented in our political system.
We support policies and candidates that give our communities more control over our government and the economy, and that serve the public good. We will break the control that corporations and the wealthy have over our government, our political process and our economy.