State legislatures in Illinois recently put into effect a law prohibiting book bans, making it the first state to take action against the form of censorship.
Announced on Jan. 1, the law was first passed in June last year by Gov. Pritzker. Created to outlaw book bans, the law prevents any outside forces from attempting to create restrictions on which books are available for reading.
With the enforcement of the bill, any public library that attempts to place restrictions on books will also receive cuts in funding.
Currently, to receive state funds, Illinois libraries must accept the terms of the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights which prohibits the exclusion of any books based on “views, origin and background.”
With the latest bill, state officials are fighting back against multiple attempts to ban books in the state. According to the American Library Association, 67 attempts were made to prevent access to a number of titles in 2022.
As of Monday, Illinois is officially the first state to ban book bans! Thanks, @IlSecofState, for protecting our #freedomtoread.
— CPLFoundation (@CPLFoundation) January 5, 2024
Listen to his remarks at our 2023 Library Foundation Awards to hear more about his passion for libraries: https://t.co/41IduetElE pic.twitter.com/dxfHTfZvoj
“Illinois continues to stand on the right side of history, refusing to censor educational and social reading material that celebrates our diversity and the richness of the human experience,” said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton per a press release in Oct. 2023. “As we celebrate Banned Books Week, our administration is committed to protecting the voices and stories of those who have historically gone unheard and unseen.”
The enforcement of the law comes amidst a nationwide effort to ban books on topics such as race, gender and sexual orientation.
In Florida, Republican Gov. DeSantis has banned studies of a number of Black authors as part of AP Black History courses, blocking students from reading works by authors such as Kimberle Crenshaw, Bell Hooks and Angela Davis.
Other targeted authors include award-winning authors Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou.
Of all the books that are being banned nationwide, Republicans are going after books about race at higher rates.
Overall, according to the nonprofit PEN America, 1,477 books were banned in the first half of the 2022-2023 academic school year. It marked a nearly 29% increase from the previous semester, bringing the total amount of banned books to 4,000 since July 2021 when the nonprofit first began the project.
Of all the banned books, approximately 30% were books that were about race and racism, making it the topic that was mostly prohibited by conservative groups.
“This report also illuminates the increasing role of legislation in driving decision-makers to proactively restrict books, and creating an environment of fear and intimidation,” said the nonprofit in their report. “In defending the freedom to read, we are increasingly concerned by the burden and cost that this movement to ban books places on public schools, as well as students, administrators, educators, and librarians.”
