Discussion of book banning has entered the Illinois General Assembly

Posted on March 23, 2023
The Illinois House passed a bill which would deny state grants to libraries which go along with book bans. (WJBC File Photo)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – The discussion of book banning has entered the Illinois General Assembly. The House passed a bill which would deny state grants to libraries which go along with book bans.

“To me, this is a complete go-around. An end-around on the local control and authority of library boards,” said State Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills). “I think it’s a very blatant attempt to strong-arm our local communities on how they want to direct our libraries to operate and function.”

The local-control argument, says sponsor State Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Naperville), is “disgusting. Local control has long been a dog whistle for allowing statewide or nationwide racist or bigoted policies to persist.”

As Republicans voiced their opinion of Stava-Murray’s view, she said, “You’re booing, and only one side is booing. I wonder why. Maybe because there is some truth to it.”

Stava-Murray and other proponents said the fodder for bans tends to be LGBTQ subject matter and books written by authors of color.

HB 2789 has passed the House, 69-39.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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