Protestants for the Common Good educates and mobilizes people of faith to participate in political democracy for the sake of social justice and the beloved community.

Agenda Item: Faith and Democracy

God calls all people to citizenship in human communities.

Protestants for the Common Good, through education and advocacy, works for the full participation of every citizen in shaping a democratic public order in which freedom, equality, and the human rights of all are protected, campaigns and elections are fair and properly funded, and the inclusive and just interdependence of all is assured.

Issues:

• Campaign Finance and Electoral Reform
• Human Rights
• Governmental Ethics
• Affirmative Action
• Immigration

Agenda Item: Faith and Economic Justice

The loving God of all demands that human beings order their economic life justly.

Protestants for the Common Good works, though education and advocacy, for policies that: promote a sustainable and healthy economy in which all persons can share; fund governmental functions adequately, with priority given to quality public education and social services for those most in need, based on fair, stable, and responsive taxation; and reduce the growing income inequality that undermines human solidarity and the common good.

Issues:

• Tax Policy
• Structural Tax Reform
• Income Inequality Reduction
• Opposition to Government-sponsored Gambling
• Poverty Reduction
• Cash Grant Adequacy
• Minimum Wage/Living Wage
• Earned Income Tax Credit
• Integrated Public Transportation and Land Use Planning
• Affordable Housing: Housing Set-Asides and Inclusionary Zoning

Agenda Item: Faith and Public Education

The God of wisdom calls every child of God to seek and share the truth that frees us all.

Protestants for the Common Good works, through education and advocacy, to secure ample funding and ensure high quality education for all students, irrespective of their local communities' tax base, with additional resources allocated to overcome the effects of concentrated poverty.

Issues:

• Public Education Funding Reform
• Universal Public Pre-School
• Universal Access to Post-Secondary Education and Job Skills Training

Agenda Item: Faith and Health Care

The God of mercy and compassion, disclosed in the healing ministry of Jesus, invites us to be agents and advocates of health and health care for all.

Protestants for the Common Good works, through education and advocacy, to enact public policies that assure quality and comprehensive health care is accessible and affordable to all people, as well as to achieve financial, administrative, and regulatory efficiencies so resources will be directed to patient care and health services will be provided justly and with compassion.

Issues:

• Full Implementation of the Health Care Justice Act of 2004
• Full Implementation of Illinois' All Kids Initiative
• Comprehensive and Responsible Sex Education
• Opposition to Reductions in Funding for Medicare and Medicaid
• Increased Support for U.S. Contribution to Global Health Initiatives

Agenda Item: Faith and Criminal Justice

Jesus, himself the victim of criminal injustice, calls his followers to join in liberating those who are imprisoned.

Protestants for the Common Good works, through education and advocacy, to reform injustices in the police, judicial, and penal systems, to reestablish rehabilitative resources and services in jails and prisons, and to remove legal and employment barriers for ex-offenders so they may become productive contributors to the common good.

Issues:

• Employment Opportunities for Ex-Offenders
• Drug Treatment as Alternative to Incarceration
• Access to Housing upon Release from Prison

Agenda Item: Faith and America's Position in the World

The God revealed in Jesus Christ is the God of all nations and peoples.

Protestants for the Common Good works, through education and advocacy, to widen the commitment to our common humanity, especially with respect to issues of human rights, war and peace, the environment, and our responsibility to future generations.