Giannoulias pushes anti-book-ban legislation

[March 10, 2023]  By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) – Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is pushing legislation he hopes will make public library officials think long and hard before moving to ban certain books in the state.

Under House Bill 2789 drafted by Giannoulias, who also serves as State Librarian, libraries in Illinois would be required to either issue a statement attesting to their anti-banning position on controversial materials and books or show that they follow the American Library Association (ALA) Bill of Rights that stipulate “materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval” in order to be eligible for state grants.

With the book ban debate having morphed into one of the most hot-button issues across the political landscape, the bill would make Illinois the first state in the country to take such a defined position, though Giannoulias insists the move is less about partisanship and more about protecting the free-flow of information.

“This is an alarming phenomenon that’s occurring throughout the nation, including Illinois, which is designed to polarize and disrupt our communities,” he said in statement posted to his website. “This scourge of censorship has a chilling effect on our democracy. These efforts have nothing to do with books. Instead, they are about ideas that certain individuals disagree with and believe no one should think, or be allowed to think.”

The ALA reports that as recently as 2022 the organization registered 67 book banning attempts across the state, up from just 41 the year before.

Giannoulias says far-right groups are behind the push of book banning, Democratic lawmakers Rep. Anne Stava Murray, Rep. Carol Ammons and Sen. Laura Murphy are sponsoring his bill.

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias during inauguration in Springfield Monday
BlueRoomStream

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has also come out in support of the bill, asserting during his State of the State Address that “banning books is a devastating attempt to erase our history and the authentic stories of many. Students across this state deserve to see themselves reflected in the pages of stories that teach and entertain.”

A growing number of states controlled by Republicans have taken just the opposite approach, including in the Indiana Senate, which moved earlier this month to pass a bill that would make it easier for law enforcement to prosecute teachers if material deemed obscene ends up in possession of a minor.

Here in Illinois, state Rep. Dan Caulkins has struck a similar tone as the merits of HB 2789 are being debated.

“Parents know best, school boards know best, library boards know best what their communities want and need,” he recently told The Chicago Tribune. “And for the state of Illinois again, here we go, the radical Democrats are pushing an agenda trying to force their woke ideology on more conservative parts of the state.”

During fiscal year 2022, data shows then Secretary of State Jesse White awarded some $62 million for 1,631 grants to Illinois libraries. The year before, nearly $68 million in grants were awarded, nearly doubling the $36 million that was handed out in fiscal year 2020. By the end of fiscal year 2023 on June 30, the secretary of state’s office estimates that it will have awarded more than 1,400 grants totaling close to $56 million.

If approved, HB 2789 would take effect Jan. 1, 2024