US state to punish ‘partisan’ book bans

Illinois has adopted a law that will cut off government funding for public libraries that prohibit books for “partisan or doctrinal” reasons, requiring them to sign onto a “Library Bill of Rights” and renounce bans on literature. 

Governor JB Pritzker signed the bill into law on Monday afternoon at a children’s library in downtown Chicago, later declaring that book bans are really about “censorship – marginalizing people, ideas, and facts.”

“Today, Illinois makes history as the first state in our nation to officially end book bans once and for all,” the governor said, claiming that followers of a “dangerous strain of white nationalism” are seeking to “determine whose histories are told in Illinois.”

Introduced by Democratic state Representative Anne Stava-Murray following a spat over content in school libraries in her own district, the new legislation is set to take effect on January 1, 2024. It will force public libraries to adopt the American Library Association’s (ALA) “Library Bill of Rights” in order to receive state funding. The law adds that “materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval,” echoing similar language used in the ALA pledge.

The row in Stava-Murray’s district reflects a broader debate over children’s reading material across the nation. Florida, Arizona, Iowa, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma and other states have proposed or passed laws to restrict books in schools and libraries over the last year, citing the need to protect children from inappropriate and mature content. According to the ALA, 2022 saw a record number of attempts to ban or restrict books, nearly doubling the figure for 2021, which itself had broken the previous record.

However, while backers of the Illinois law say it will aim to combat censorship, opponents have argued the measure will only erode local governance in favor of more centralized power.

“I support local control,” said Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, a Republican. “Our caucus does not believe in banning books, but we do believe that the content of books should be considered in their placement on the shelves.”

Terry Newsome – a parent who helped to spearhead a campaign to remove a controversial book titled ‘Gender Queer’ from school libraries in Downers Grove, Illinois – told local media that he does not support “banning books,” but instead wanted to remove “pornographic” content from schools.

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