Illinois became the first state in the United States to ban book bans, after Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday signed legislation cutting state funding to any Illinois bookstore that attempts to ban books, CBS Chicago reports.
The new law comes as mostly Republican-led states Continue to restrict books Some are considered offensive in schools and libraries across the country.
“Banning books is about censorship and marginalizing people, marginalizing ideas and facts. Systems ban books, not democracies,” Pritzker said before signing the legislation on Monday.
Illinois public libraries that restrict or block material due to “partisan or ideological” disapproval will be ineligible for state funding starting January 1, 2024, when the new law goes into effect.
“We’re not saying every book should be in every single library,” said Illinois Secretary of State Alexei Giannoulias, who is also the state librarian and was the driving force behind the legislation. “What this law does is it says, ‘Let us trust in our experience and in the education of our librarians to decide which books should be in circulation.'”
The new law goes into effect as states across the US lobby to remove certain books in schools and libraries, especially those on LGBTQ+ topics and people of color. The American Library Association announced in March that attempts to censor books in schools and public libraries reached a 20-year high in 2022 — twice as high as in 2021, the previous record.
“Illinois legislation responds to the troubling conditions of censorship and the environment of suspicion,” said Deborah Caldwell Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom and executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation.
To be eligible for funds from the state, Illinois public libraries must adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which states that “materials should not be disqualified because of the origin, background, or opinions of those who contribute to their creation,” or subscribe to a similar pledge .
Downers Grove Democratic Rep. Ann Staffa Murray sponsored the legislation in the Illinois House of Representatives after her district’s school board came under pressure to ban certain content from school libraries.
“While it is true that children need guidance, and that some ideas can be objectionable, the attempt to weaponize local government to impose one-size-fits-all standards on the entire community for reasons of bigotry, or as an alternative to active and participatory parenting, Staffa Murray said Monday when signing the law. which took place in a children’s library in downtown Chicago.
Despite Giannoulias’ assertion that “this should not be a Democratic or Republican issue,” lawmakers’ approval of the bill split 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 congregation does not believe in banning books, but we do believe that the content of books should be taken into account when they are placed on the shelves.”
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