Illinois becomes the first state in the US to ban book bans

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed a bill Monday that he says will become the first state to ban book bans.

State public libraries that restrict or ban material due to “partisan or doctrinal” disapproval will no longer be eligible for government funding from January 1, 2024, when the new law comes into effect.

“Today Illinois makes history as the first state in our country to officially end the ban on books once and for all,” Pritzker, a Democrat, tweeted Wednesday. “We show everyone what it looks like to stand up for freedom. It’s that simple.’

It comes as books have become a battleground in the country’s culture wars, as some have conservatives search the library shelves for titles they find offensive.

“Book bans are about censorship and marginalizing people, marginalizing ideas and facts. Regimes ban books, democracies don’t,” Pritzker said at the signing of the bill.

In April, President Joe Biden lashed out at hardline Republicans like Governor Ron DeSantis for what he viewed as book bans in his state of Florida.

Last month, Penguin Random House and the writers’ group PEN America filed a lawsuit against a Florida school district for removing books from public school libraries on race and LGBTQ issues.

DeSantis, a potential candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has been a driving force behind a campaign in the southern state to restrict children’s access to certain books.

He has leaned heavily on cultural divides around race, sexual orientation and gender as he tries to win support from conservative voters who decide the Republican primary.

Florida has been a leading battleground in the so-called “culture wars,” with dozens of books removed from library shelves in recent months, deemed inappropriate for children by conservative parents and school boards.

Illinois, which has a Democratic governor and a supermajority in both houses of its legislature, looks set to become the state leading the fight against these policies.

“We’re not saying every book should be in every library,” said Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who is also the state’s librarian and the driving force behind legislation.

Pritzker claimed there were 67 attempts to ban books in the state in 2022 alone.

“What this law does is let’s rely on our experience and training of our librarians to decide which books should be in circulation,” Giannoulias added.

The governor claimed that books like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Kite Runner may have been banned.

“The argument about banning books always starts with the claim that it’s about protecting children,” Pritzker said. “Yes, of course we all want to protect our children, so they read age-appropriate material.”

The new law comes into effect as states in the US push to remove certain books from schools and libraries, especially those about LGBTQ+ themes and by people of color.

The American Library Association announced in March that efforts to censor books in schools and public libraries will reach a 20-year high by 2022 — twice as many as 2021, the previous record.

They said five states have issued criminal penalties for librarians who give children access to “obscene” material — and a dozen states are considering similar actions.

“Illinois legislation is a response to troubling conditions of censorship and an environment of suspicion,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom and executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation.

To qualify for state funding, Illinois public libraries must adopt those from the American Library Association Library Bill of Rightsstating that “material should not be excluded because of the origin, background or views of those who contributed to its creation”, or endorse a similar pledge.

Downers Grove Democrat Rep. Anne Stava-Murray sponsored legislation in the Illinois House of Representatives after a school board in her district came under pressure to ban certain content from school libraries.

“While it is true that children need guidance, and some ideas may be objectionable, they try to use local government as a weapon to force uniform standards on the whole community for reasons of bigotry, or as a substitute for active and involved parenting, is wrong,” Stava-Murray said Monday at the signing of the bill, which took place at a children’s library in downtown Chicago.

Pritzker followed up on signing the bill with an announcement that the state had partnered with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, donating a free book each month to any child under five who enrolls.

Despite Giannoulias’ assertion that “this shouldn’t be a Democratic or Republican issue,” legislature approval has splintered across party lines, with Republicans in opposition.

“I support local control,” House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, a Republican who voted against the measure, said in an emailed statement.

“Our caucus doesn’t believe in banning books, but we do believe that the content of books should be taken into account when placing them on the shelves.”