Platform

In accordance with the United States Pirate Party platform, the ILPP calls for major reforms of patent and copyright laws.

The Founding Fathers created our copyright laws to promote knowledge & culture by giving the creator a limited monopoly over their creations.  Congress, under the influence of corporations, has extended the duration of that government granted monopoly to seventy years after the death of the creator.  Increasingly corporations have sought broader laws to ensure that they control and profit from more of our culture.  Through Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies they have locked down our culture, hindered sharing and criminalized their customers.

The Pirate Party will:

• limit the copyright to five years for electronic media and fourteen years for tangible objects,
• make sure that all non-commercial copying, sharing and remixing are legal and
• ban DRM software.

There is no reason for copyright to continue until 70 years after death.

Everyone must have equal access to the internet, and the Pirate Party will foster network neutrality so that internet service providers cannot give preferential treatment to preferred web sites and we oppose three strikes laws that ban anyone from using the internet because of copyright violations.  The internet has the potential to be a new Library of Alexandria, if we don’t let corporations and government lock it down.

We seek the reform of patents. The patent system stifles innovation by making it difficult to incorporate an existing invention into a new one. It discourages researchers from sharing their new ideas until after a patent application. It prevents hundreds of thousands of people in poor countries from receiving the drugs they need. Currently pharmaceutical companies spend only 15% of their revenue on new drug research. The remaining 85% is spent on activities such as marketing and profit taking. A reformed system would dramatically increase the money available for innovation, while removing the obstacles to innovation posed by the current patent system.

To achieve the most democratic work environment, the ILPP will fight for workers to have unions and their right to organize. In our economy, the workers should have more say in their workplace. Happier workers will create a strong economy. Increased union participation leads to increased economy democracy and prosperity.

Whether it was the PATRIOT ACT, illegal NSA wiretapping or local surveillance cameras, our government has used 9/11 to increase its surveillance and control over us. Corporations have increased their spying on employees in order to get more work out of them. The arguments for each step on the road to a surveillance state may sound convincing, but that road leads to less control by people and more by government and corporate elites. Terrorists may attack the open society, but only governments can abolish it. The Pirate Party will prevent that from happening.

The Supreme Court and Congress have expanded the power of corporations for over a hundred years and made them more powerful than people. Whether it is the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision that allows corporations to buy elections, or Congress’ cuts in corporate tax rates while raising payroll taxes, real people end up with the short end of the stick.  Pirate Parties across the US will make sure our laws put people before corporations.

Illinois can be a leader in worker owned businesses, small businesses and entrepreneurial ventures. Making it easier for everyone to enter the business world without the hurdles, which are nonexistent to the 1% and top earners in this country, will be a goal of all Illinois Pirates.

The ILPP believes you should know how every cent of your tax dollars are spent, so that is why we shall advocate for an open-source tax system.

We believe that major police reform is not only a legitimate idea, but a necessity. Due to the divisive and hot button nature of this topic, the USPP is dedicated to finding quality solutions that can be agreed upon by the vast majority. Here are a few steps we can take towards reform:

• Demilitarize the police through actions such as ending the 1033 Program and discouraging technique sharing between the neighborhood police and the military or federal intelligence agencies;
• End qualified immunity and hold officers accountable when they break the law;
• End civil asset forfeiture and its enabling of “slush funds” to be used for any purpose;
• Invest money into community care instead of more policing, especially in areas currently impacted by over-policing;
• Require warrants for all forms of surveillance and end no-knock warrants;
• Force departments to collect statistics in order to outline biases in enforcement and which enforcement methods are better for the community;
• Ensure nobody is put in jail for actions of basic survival;
• Properly train our police forces with regular training in all aspects of the job. This will include but not limited to mental health assessments, first responder medical certification, community policing, & public engagement.

There are many things that must be done in order to fix the issues with policing in our country. There are also many different end goals that many different people have in mind. What we need right now is an honest, no-nonsense start to the process, and that is what the USPP hopes to achieve.

Self-Management is a means for institutions and communities to operate based on autonomy and decision-making capabilities of people. Self-Management, in all its forms, demonstrates the following characteristics:

• It implies self-criticism, awareness.
• It is individual and collective: Justice and Solidarity.
• It criticizes all forms of despotism and manipulation.
• It allows the creation of a more egalitarian society.
• It empowers social, territorial and food sovereignty.
• It shows the path of transformation of everyday life.
• It is the spring of change in society.

Self-Management encompasses all aspects of our lives, including:

• Ideological – Ideological pluralism is a good thing, not only because it represents respect for people’s freedom, but also because ideas constantly present society with other matters of dialogue, other visions that foster evolution and prevent ideological stalemate.
• Territorial – We believe in a territorial model that must be built from the bottom up, in a totally democratic and supportive way, where peoples have the capacity to decide and can freely manage themselves.
• Political – We consider the establishment of a participatory democracy at all levels, allowing citizens to make decisions in the politics of their community, essential.
• Economic – We believe that the central pillar of the economy must be based on small business, worker owned businesses and unions. This concept of self-management allows workers the chance for greater say in the workplace. In this way, all workers are allowed the chance to truly earn the fruit of their labor. All this must be combined with a democratic and flexible planning.

In order for citizens to control their democratic destiny, we need to know what our government is doing and which special interests are influencing our public elected officials.  Increasingly government officials ignore open meeting laws, make deals favorable to corporations behind closed doors and sell off your public information to private interests.  Some state laws prevent people from recording public officials in their duties, such as a police officer making an arrest, but the police cameras can record your actions without your permission.  Pirate Parties in the United States will make sure that our government is transparent and accountable to the people.

The ILPP opposes, with rare exception, any secret activities or expenditures of funds of any government agency – state, federal or international. An open book is what the ILPP wants the government to be. We want the expenses and expenditures to be public, with open source availability to all those who wish to see how their tax dollars are spent.

Why does the government insist on operating in secret? The ILPP believes this practice must stop.

We proudly condemn bigotry as irrational and repugnant. We believe this behavior to be fundamentally incompatible with our core values. Pirates stand for everyone, even when others do not.

The ILPP calls for the building of a highspeed rail system. Connecting Springfield to 50 potential, democratically chosen stopping points across various regions of Illinois, we envision a highspeed rail with potential destinations to Aurora, Belleville, Bloomington-Normal, Cairo, Canton, Carbondale, Carmi, Centralia, Champaign-Urbana, Charleston, Chester, Chicago, Danville, Decatur, DeKalb, East Dubuque, Edwardsville, Effingham, Freeport, Galesburg, Gibson City, Hamilton, Harrisburg, Harvard, Hoopeston, Jacksonville, Jerseyville, Joliet, Kankakee, Kewanee, Lincoln, Macomb, Metropolis, Monmouth, Mt. Vernon, Olney, Paris, Peoria, Peru-La Salle, Pontiac, Quincy, the Quad Cities, Robinson, Rochelle, Rockford, Savanna, Sterling-Rock Falls, Streator, Watseka and Waukegan. Building a high speed rail from the capital Springfield to the various major cities, college/university towns and wider regions throughout Illinois:

• Will allow for a more interconnected state
• Provide an economic solution that allows Illinois students to attend the university of their choice, with travel no longer an issue.
• Provide an environmentally safe alternative to travel in Illinois

The public transportation of Illinois can be the envy of the United States and we can lead by example. Let’s connect Illinois!

As we call for the building of a highspeed rail system, we also call for the expansion of Springfield’s Abraham Lincoln Capitol airport to be expanded to become an airport that could rival Midway and perhaps take much of the burden off of O’Hare. A centralized transportation hub in the middle of Illinois, the capital city Springfield can become a major city in ways that surpass its political importance. But, it is its political importance that is the reason we must make it the central connection hub of Illinois. It’s essential to expand the Springfield airport in order to further facilitate the city’s growth and exemplify the city’s importance.

Of all the things harming this country, nothing is dividing us quite like political corruption is and getting money out of politics should be of the utmost urgency. We seek to end the corporate money problem and get corporate influence out of our state.

Continents have been united in various ways, such as Europe in the form of the EU, Africa with the AU, or Southeast Asia with ASEAN. While the existence of the OAS (Organization of American States) signifies a previous willingness to come together in the name of Pan-Americanism, a restructuring from a paradigm of United States dominance to genuine collaboration and friendship is essential. A more united American Continent will help each country become stronger and create a stronger bond between every American, from Greenland to Patagonia.

• We advocate for increased diplomacy in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, especially where we do not have a good record of friendly and diplomatic relations. We need to earn the trust of our fellow American countries in the New World by being a helpful ally rather than an overarching imperial authority.
• We advocate for increasing trade and signing friendship treaties with these countries in order to assist them economically, helping to bolster the continent’s economy in general, and strengthening our cultural ties as Americans.
• We call for free movement for Americans from every American country.
• We advocate for ending the Cuban embargo and lifting sanctions on Nicaragua and Venezuela.

It’s no secret that the treatment of Latin Americans and other ethnic/cultural minorities within these United States have been less than stellar. There will be high expectations if we claim that we have changed for the better, and rightfully so. It will take years of work to repair the damaged relationships and restore continental trust back in the USA and its citizens, but that is something we here at the US Pirate Party, joined in partnership with Pirate Parties on the American continent, are committed to doing.

• We call for the free movement of all peoples.
• We advocate for the right to free association and self-determination. People living in a political entity should have the right to maintain, alter or conclude their relationship to larger entities, or join in union, if it is the will of the people.
• We advocate for lifting sanctions on countries who only have said sanctions because we disapprove of their government.
• We advocate for legislation which ensures our government and intelligence agencies do not interfere in any elections in Europe, Africa, Asia or any part of the American Continent and that the will of the people is respected.

This would likely require quite a significant foreign policy change on the USA’s part, however. The US has made a lot of missteps along the way, so we should make the first steps to fix them.