> SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WGEM) – The Illinois House passed a bill Wednesday that would prohibit libraries from banning books or other material because of partisan or doctrinal pressure, prompting strong opposition from Republicans who called it an assault on local control.
> House Bill 2789 is an initiative of Democratic Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, whose office oversees the Illinois State Library and administers several grant programs for public and school libraries as well as adult literacy programs throughout the state.
> The bill would require that as a condition of qualifying for those grants in the future, libraries or library systems would have to adopt a written policy prohibiting the practice of banning books. Alternatively, they could adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which includes a statement that “(m)aterials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”
> The bill came in response to a wave of high-profile controversies throughout the country, including at least one in Illinois. School districts and public libraries have come under pressure to remove certain material from their collections, often material dealing with issues involving race, sexuality and gender identity.
> “Banning books is the sort of behavior that was once, for good reason, associated with the worst, most repressive and repugnant authoritarian regimes of the mid-20th century and before,” the bill’s lead sponsor Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, D-Naperville, said during debate on the House floor. “The fact that this is even up for discussion in America in the 21st century is disgusting. And yet, just last year in my district, that discussion was spurred on by a few radical parents and the Proud Boys hate group over a book called ‘Gender Queer.’”
> That book is a memoir by Maia Kobabe about a nonbinary person grappling with issues of gender identity and sexuality as a teenager and young adult. According to the New York Times, it has been pulled from library shelves in dozens of school districts around the country.
> One of the school districts that came under pressure to remove the book was Community High School District 99, in Downers Grove, in Stava-Murray’s district. According to a June 2022 Chicago Sun-Times story, the pressure was generated by a group of conservative parents and members of the Proud Boys, but students in the district pushed back and the board eventually voted unanimously to keep the book on the shelves.
> “Students led a community-supported effort in my district to keep the book in the library,” Stava-Murray said. “But kids shouldn’t have to be the heroes… Nobody is forcing you or your children to check out or purchase or read these books. If they are not consistent with your personal beliefs, don’t read them.”
> PEN American, in a report on book bans around the country, identified five enforced bans in the state between July 2021 and June 2022, including 3 bans of Gender Queer.
> Some Republicans, however, argued that public libraries are governed by locally elected boards, and that those boards should have the authority to decide how best to serve their communities.
> “I find this a complete assault on local control,” said Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills. “… These people volunteer as nonpartisan elected local officials, and for the state to tell a local library board, ‘listen to the professionals; follow the professionals’ – I don’t understand why we have local elections anymore if a bill like this passes.”
> Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, said that he used to serve on his local library board and when his own children visit the library, they are accompanied by a parent. But he said that is not necessarily the case when they are at school using the school library.
> “I am not for banning books at all,” he said. “I am for age-appropriate materials. And so, if a parent wants their kid to have those age-appropriate materials, they can certainly get them for them. I don’t think that a librarian is the end-all, be-all decision maker in the state of Illinois on what books should be given to a child.”
> Stava-Murray, however, rejected those arguments, saying the bill would only add another condition onto the rules to qualify for grants administered by the secretary of state. Last year, the office awarded more than 1,600 grants totaling more than $62 million, including a $4,300 grant to Downers Grove Community High School District 99.
> “In terms of the argument about local control, I find that disgusting. Local Control has long been a dog whistle for allowing statewide or nationwide racist or bigoted policies to persist,” she said, eliciting loud boos from the Republican side of the aisle. “Today, I just strongly urge my colleagues to do the right thing and make sure that access to books is not infringed upon in our state.”
> The bill passed the House 69-39 with all of the no votes coming from Republicans. Three Democrats and one Republican were recorded as present but not voting. The bill next goes to the Senate for consideration.
> “Public and school libraries are facing unprecedented censorship of books and resources, not just in Illinois but throughout the nation,” Giannoulias said in a statement after the vote. “This important first-in-the-nation legislation combats book banning and upholds freedom of speech, which America has always stood for. I applaud the Illinois House of Representatives for passing this important measure and encourage the State Senate to do the same.”
Gunter5 on
Ban on bans. Take that Florida!
Autarch_Kade on
How long until the Republicans start banning libraries themselves? Can’t have socialized access to reading material after all…
destroy_b4_reading on
Man I’m glad I live in Illinois right now.
Edit: wow, this one really brought out the trolls. /r/illinois is leaking haters, they must have notifications for the word turned on or something.
pinniped1 on
We’re on the timeline where we look to <checks notes> Illinois state politics to be the adult in the room.
scawtsauce on
Florida, where freedom goes to die
[deleted] on
Good! I’m so tired of states banning books. It’s getting ridiculous. Why are we banning books, anyway? All it’s doing is limiting education. We can all learn from books.
atjones111 on
Weird time we live in that this has to become law
Cospo on
Serious question as a non-American, but wouldn’t banning a particular book be a breach of the First Amendment? Are books not protected by the constitutional right to free speech?
Edit: I got my answer, thanks for the information. I didn’t expect to get so many replies so you can stop now 😅
[deleted] on
[deleted]
[deleted] on
[deleted]
Moonunit08 on
Our taxes may be high as hell here in Illinois. But we don’t ban books. And we let women decide what they want to do with their bodies. Fuck DeSantis, Florida and the Grand Ole Party.
form_an_opinion on
Illinois has been a great example of how democrats need to be doing things nation wide. Every month or two they pass a new bill that makes sense and helps people.
Dull-Lead-7782 on
Good. I hate Illinois nazis
Generico300 on
Republicans: “It’s not about that, it’s about states rights!”
Republicans again: “It’s not about that, it’s about local rights!”
Republicans again: “It’s not about that, it’s about individual freedoms!”
Still Republicans: “Bodily autonomy isn’t an individual freedom.”
Original_Trickster on
Awfully proud of my state lately. Nice.
Stebsis on
Some of these comments are wild. If your first thought of “No book bans” is “Porn for children!” maybe the problem is a bit closer to you than you think.
GFVeggie6 on
If you don’t want to read a book, fine, don’t read it. If you are a parent and don’t want your child to read a book, fine, don’t let your child read it, but do not tell me what book I can read or let my children read.
That is what bans are about. Deciding that something you don’t like isn’t allowed. That is poor parenting.
[deleted] on
In a sea of excrement, finally a flower.
TheTruthofOne on
People keep shitting on my state of Illinois.
Yet I hear more stuff come out of Illinois that proves its not remotely close to turning red and becoming a fascist state like these red states.
Parents moved to Florida a decade ago cause it was a good idea at the time, now they are wanting to come back.
Shit on Illinois more, I’ll be here smoking by blunt, having a decent job, and having a good life.
20 Comments
Full text of article:
> SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WGEM) – The Illinois House passed a bill Wednesday that would prohibit libraries from banning books or other material because of partisan or doctrinal pressure, prompting strong opposition from Republicans who called it an assault on local control.
> House Bill 2789 is an initiative of Democratic Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, whose office oversees the Illinois State Library and administers several grant programs for public and school libraries as well as adult literacy programs throughout the state.
> The bill would require that as a condition of qualifying for those grants in the future, libraries or library systems would have to adopt a written policy prohibiting the practice of banning books. Alternatively, they could adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which includes a statement that “(m)aterials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”
> The bill came in response to a wave of high-profile controversies throughout the country, including at least one in Illinois. School districts and public libraries have come under pressure to remove certain material from their collections, often material dealing with issues involving race, sexuality and gender identity.
> “Banning books is the sort of behavior that was once, for good reason, associated with the worst, most repressive and repugnant authoritarian regimes of the mid-20th century and before,” the bill’s lead sponsor Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, D-Naperville, said during debate on the House floor. “The fact that this is even up for discussion in America in the 21st century is disgusting. And yet, just last year in my district, that discussion was spurred on by a few radical parents and the Proud Boys hate group over a book called ‘Gender Queer.’”
> That book is a memoir by Maia Kobabe about a nonbinary person grappling with issues of gender identity and sexuality as a teenager and young adult. According to the New York Times, it has been pulled from library shelves in dozens of school districts around the country.
> One of the school districts that came under pressure to remove the book was Community High School District 99, in Downers Grove, in Stava-Murray’s district. According to a June 2022 Chicago Sun-Times story, the pressure was generated by a group of conservative parents and members of the Proud Boys, but students in the district pushed back and the board eventually voted unanimously to keep the book on the shelves.
> “Students led a community-supported effort in my district to keep the book in the library,” Stava-Murray said. “But kids shouldn’t have to be the heroes… Nobody is forcing you or your children to check out or purchase or read these books. If they are not consistent with your personal beliefs, don’t read them.”
> PEN American, in a report on book bans around the country, identified five enforced bans in the state between July 2021 and June 2022, including 3 bans of Gender Queer.
> Some Republicans, however, argued that public libraries are governed by locally elected boards, and that those boards should have the authority to decide how best to serve their communities.
> “I find this a complete assault on local control,” said Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills. “… These people volunteer as nonpartisan elected local officials, and for the state to tell a local library board, ‘listen to the professionals; follow the professionals’ – I don’t understand why we have local elections anymore if a bill like this passes.”
> Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, said that he used to serve on his local library board and when his own children visit the library, they are accompanied by a parent. But he said that is not necessarily the case when they are at school using the school library.
> “I am not for banning books at all,” he said. “I am for age-appropriate materials. And so, if a parent wants their kid to have those age-appropriate materials, they can certainly get them for them. I don’t think that a librarian is the end-all, be-all decision maker in the state of Illinois on what books should be given to a child.”
> Stava-Murray, however, rejected those arguments, saying the bill would only add another condition onto the rules to qualify for grants administered by the secretary of state. Last year, the office awarded more than 1,600 grants totaling more than $62 million, including a $4,300 grant to Downers Grove Community High School District 99.
> “In terms of the argument about local control, I find that disgusting. Local Control has long been a dog whistle for allowing statewide or nationwide racist or bigoted policies to persist,” she said, eliciting loud boos from the Republican side of the aisle. “Today, I just strongly urge my colleagues to do the right thing and make sure that access to books is not infringed upon in our state.”
> The bill passed the House 69-39 with all of the no votes coming from Republicans. Three Democrats and one Republican were recorded as present but not voting. The bill next goes to the Senate for consideration.
> “Public and school libraries are facing unprecedented censorship of books and resources, not just in Illinois but throughout the nation,” Giannoulias said in a statement after the vote. “This important first-in-the-nation legislation combats book banning and upholds freedom of speech, which America has always stood for. I applaud the Illinois House of Representatives for passing this important measure and encourage the State Senate to do the same.”
Ban on bans. Take that Florida!
How long until the Republicans start banning libraries themselves? Can’t have socialized access to reading material after all…
Man I’m glad I live in Illinois right now.
Edit: wow, this one really brought out the trolls. /r/illinois is leaking haters, they must have notifications for the word turned on or something.
We’re on the timeline where we look to <checks notes> Illinois state politics to be the adult in the room.
Florida, where freedom goes to die
Good! I’m so tired of states banning books. It’s getting ridiculous. Why are we banning books, anyway? All it’s doing is limiting education. We can all learn from books.
Weird time we live in that this has to become law
Serious question as a non-American, but wouldn’t banning a particular book be a breach of the First Amendment? Are books not protected by the constitutional right to free speech?
Edit: I got my answer, thanks for the information. I didn’t expect to get so many replies so you can stop now 😅
[deleted]
[deleted]
Our taxes may be high as hell here in Illinois. But we don’t ban books. And we let women decide what they want to do with their bodies. Fuck DeSantis, Florida and the Grand Ole Party.
Illinois has been a great example of how democrats need to be doing things nation wide. Every month or two they pass a new bill that makes sense and helps people.
Good. I hate Illinois nazis
Republicans: “It’s not about that, it’s about states rights!”
Republicans again: “It’s not about that, it’s about local rights!”
Republicans again: “It’s not about that, it’s about individual freedoms!”
Still Republicans: “Bodily autonomy isn’t an individual freedom.”
Awfully proud of my state lately. Nice.
Some of these comments are wild. If your first thought of “No book bans” is “Porn for children!” maybe the problem is a bit closer to you than you think.
If you don’t want to read a book, fine, don’t read it. If you are a parent and don’t want your child to read a book, fine, don’t let your child read it, but do not tell me what book I can read or let my children read.
That is what bans are about. Deciding that something you don’t like isn’t allowed. That is poor parenting.
In a sea of excrement, finally a flower.
People keep shitting on my state of Illinois.
Yet I hear more stuff come out of Illinois that proves its not remotely close to turning red and becoming a fascist state like these red states.
Parents moved to Florida a decade ago cause it was a good idea at the time, now they are wanting to come back.
Shit on Illinois more, I’ll be here smoking by blunt, having a decent job, and having a good life.