SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — There was an intense debate on the Illinois House floor Wednesday over a bill that could block local elected leaders from banning books in public libraries.
Under the plan, libraries must agree to reject any attempts to ban books in order to receive state funding. Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is working with Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Downers Grove) to pass the legislation, as the plan is a top priority for his office. The Illinois Secretary of State is in charge of the State Library and administers grant programs for public libraries.
Giannoulias and Stava-Murray note that librarians have faced unprecedented censorship of books and resources in recent years. House Bill 2879 could adopt the American Library Association's Bill of Rights which states that books should not be removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Under Stava-Murray's proposal, libraries and library systems failing to disallow the banning of books could be ineligible for state grants starting in 2024. Stava-Murray said the fact that this is even up for discussion in the 21st century is disgusting.
"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'," Stava-Murray explained. "All too often, we see the books targeted by these hate groups and radical fringe parents are books having to deal with LGBTQIA+ identities or Black and brown authors."
Stava-Murray said that students in her district led a community-supported effort to keep the book in their library. However, she stressed that weeks of library board meetings were derailed by people wanting to ban the book.
House Republican Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) said her caucus doesn't want to ban books. She explained that many parents are concerned about where certain books are placed in libraries.
"A book that may have graphic illustrations in a position where young children can see them I think is the concern," McCombie said. "But you're stating that this bill does not address those concerns. It's only to prohibit the banning of books."
Stava-Murray said children develop at different rates and have different needs.
"What might be considered too mature for one child may be perfectly suited to another child. For that reason, books are selected by library staff for the institution's collection," Stava-Murray said. "You are not allowed to say that someone else's child can't access that book in the library."
Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) said the bill is extremely important to prevent local leaders from acting similar to states that have banned books about certain racial and sexual influence.
"Parents can choose to check out a book or not," Ammons said. "But, we certainly should not be funding libraries that tend to ban books about ethnic communities, groups, and those in the LGBTQ community."
Other lawmakers feel that library boards should have the ability to make any decisions they feel are best for the local community. Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) said this is an attempt to strong arm local communities and how they direct libraries.
"I find this a complete assault on local control and on parents, whether progressives or conservatives, libertarian, green party, moderates, or whatever other characterization you'll make," McLaughlin said. "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.”
Stava-Murray said the argument about local control was disgusting. She described local control as a "dog whistle for allowing statewide or nationwide racist or bigoted policies to persist."
"You're booing, and only one side is booing," Stava-Murray added. "I wonder why, because maybe there is some truth to it."
Meanwhile, Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville) said that he previously served on a library board and worked with a librarian who had the public's best interests in mind. Davidsmeyer is concerned that the proposal could impact schools that receive grant funding from the state. Davidsmeyer explained that his son goes to the school library every Tuesday, but parents aren't there to see the books that students take out.
"I am not for banning books at all," Davidsmeyer 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 which books should be given to a child."
House Bill 2789 passed out of the House on a partisan 69-39 vote. The proposal now heads to the Senate for further consideration.
Under Rep. Anne Stava-Murray's proposal, libraries and library systems failing to disallow the banning of books could be ineligible for state grants starting in 2024.
"Public and school libraries are facing unprecedented censorship of books and resources, not just in Illinois but throughout the nation," Giannoulias stated. "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 Representative for passing this important measure and encourage the State Senate to do the same."
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