A bill that would allow the Illinois secretary of state's office to to deny grant funding to public and school libraries that ban books cleared the House.
Workers sort returned items at Elmhurst Public Library on Nov. 23, 2020, in Elmhurst.
Democrats say book bans often discriminate against the LGBTQ community and other marginalized groups, while Republicans have argued that some titles need to be out of the reach of children if they contain pornography or obscene imagery.when the high school board in Downers Grove unanimously voted to keep the book “Gender Queer: A Memoir” in its libraries despite concerns from a group of parents and some members of the far-right Proud Boys group.
“For example, a book that may have graphic illustrations in a position where young children can see them is the concern,” said McCombie, a Republican from Savanna.“What might be considered too mature for one child may be perfectly suited to another child,” she said. “For that reason, books are selected by library staff for the institutions’ collections. They should be made readily available and parents should exercise their rights and responsibilities as to their own children.
“I’m not sure what library science teaches an individual to allow them to decide the mental maturity of a child,” he said. “I don’t think that a librarian is the end-all, be-all decision-maker in the state of Illinois on what books should be given to a child.”
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