Lake County Gazette

There has been a growing number of attempts for books to be banned in libraries due to what some parents see as inappropriate and controversial, but on June 12 Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the first ever anti-book ban bill in an attempt to nip it in the bud.

“Book bans are about censorship, marginalizing people, marginalizing ideas and facts. Regimes ban books, not democracies," Pritzker said in a press conference.

According to a report by ABC 7 Chicago, House Bill 2789 establishes that it is the state's policy to "encourage and protect the freedom of libraries and library systems to acquire materials without external limitation and to be protected against attempts to ban, remove, or otherwise restrict access to books or other material," along with requiring that as a condition for being eligible for state grants, libraries and library systems must adopt either the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights or some other written statement prohibiting the practice of banning books or other materials.

The bill is backed by Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias who is also the top librarian in the state of Illinois. The bill cuts off funding for libraries that remove books from their shelves. It is viewed as being a direct response to some school districts banning some controversial books due to parental backlash, and many of those have been touted by the LGBTQ community. One book to note was “Gender Queer,” which reportedly has drawings that are sexual in nature. Those opposing it said it was about banning pornographic books and did not matter if it was heterosexual or homosexual. State Rep. Anne Stava Murray said in the report that banning books like this was an attack on the LGBTQ+ community and people of color.

“Those pushing book banning say they are doing it to protect people. Well, that's just not true. Book banning is most frequently used to silence the voices of the LGBTQ+ community as well as people of color," said Murray.

The report added that the American Library Association reported that attempted book bans were up significantly across the state in 2022. There were 67 attempts in 2022, which was up about 70% from the 2021 amount of 41 book ban attempts.