Take Action
Become an advocate for social justice with Protestants for the Common Good and take action on the following opportunities.
Read PCG’s 2011 Legislative Summary
Read about the results of PCG’s legislative work during the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly. Our work on the state budget crisis, in concert with the Responsible Budget Coalition, continued throughout the entire 2010 legislative session, with approval of the long-sought income tax increase coming on the final day, January 11, 2011. We celebrate several other important legislative successes, achieved during the 2011 session, particularly in the areas of criminal justice and the environment. Contact Laura Dean Friedrich if you would like more information about our policy advocacy work.
Sign a Petition Supporting an Increase in Minimum Wage
PCG is working with the Raise Illinois Coalition to pass legislation to increase the minimum wage in Illinois. A full-time worker making the current minimum wage ($8.25/hour) earns about $17,000 a year before taxes, which studies have demonstrated, is simply not enough to live on in Illinois. As disparities between the rich and the poor grow larger, increasing the minimum wage by 50 cents each year for four years (until it reaches $10.65) would go a long way in keeping families out of extreme poverty. Please take a moment to sign one of two petitions to members of the Illinois General Assembly. Faith leaders and clergy are asked to sign the faith letter and church and community members are asked to sign the voter letter. We hope to deliver the letters and signatures at the beginning of the new legislative session in January. For more information on the bill, please visit Raise Illinois.
Watch the State of the Union
Did you miss the 2012 State of the Union? Not to worry, we’ve got links to the full speech as well as the Republic Response. The White House website has the address complete with graphs, statistics, and charts highlighting the particular issues that the President discusses. The Huffington Post has the full Republican Response from Indiana Governor, Mitch Daniels in both video and text form. (Watch the State of the Union.) (Watch the Republican Response.)
Minimum Wage Lobby Day in Springfield
Springfield, IL: Protestants for the Common Good is working with the Raise Illinois Coalition to increase the state’s minimum wage. The coalition is holding a faith lobby day in Springfield on the first day of session. The group will take the train together down to the capitol (we’ve reserved a whole train car!), which will include time for training and education on the bill. Participants will meet with legislators throughout the day and then take the train back to the city in the evening. If you’re interested in coming with us, please register here or contact Laura Dean Friedrich at ldfriedrich@thecommongood.org or 312–223–9544 ×223.
“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
