A piece of state legislation recently passed by the Illinois Senate could see libraries banning books lose access to state funding.

House Bill 2789 amends the Illinois Library System Act and establishes that “it is the policy of the state to encourage the improvement of free public libraries,” with promotion of access to library resources being a key concern.

Essentially, the bill would have the state adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which outlines various policies by which libraries should act.

Among these policies is the inclusion of materials regardless of their “origin, background or views of those contributing to their creation.”

The bill – which has now passed both the House and Senate and is expected to be signed by Gov. JB Pritzker – was originally pushed by Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who also oversees the Illinois State Library.

Giannoulias commented on the bill shortly after it passed in the state senate last Wednesday, describing the importance of the legislation to help protect libraries from political groups – particularly anti-LGBTQ organizations.

“This right-to-read legislation will help remove the pressure that librarians have had to endure from extremist groups like the Proud Boys who have targeted some of our libraries and their staff,” Giannoulias said. “This first-of-its-kind legislation is important because the concept of banning books contradicts the very essence of what our country stands for.”

Per reporting from Capitol News Illinois, Community High School District 99 in the Chicago area is one district which was targeted by the Proud Boys and conservative parents for carrying copies of the book “Gender Queer” last summer.

“Gender Queer,” according to the American Library Association, was the most frequently challenged book of 2022, with 151 requests for its removal due to its focus on LGBTQ issues and allegedly explicit sexual content.

The association further recorded that last year saw 1,269 demands for books and other resources to be removed from libraries, the highest number recorded since the organization began collecting data more than 20 years ago.

The legislation has received notable backlash from Republicans in the state senate, with Sen. Sue Rezin of Morris citing a provision that libraries which offer meeting spaces “should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.”

“I think what I heard is, regarding the Bill of Rights here, that if a library does not make its public space available for anyone who wants to use it, including, say, a drag show, because of what the local officials of that library feel is not appropriate for the library, that library can now potentially lose their state funding,” Rezin said.

Sen. Steve McClure of Springfield voiced his concerns as well, suggesting that libraries would be forced to accept book donations containing hate speech or illicit content like how to build a bomb.

Giannoulias questioned these concerns, saying the legislation doesn’t deal with drag shows or outline what materials libraries should maintain.

“We’re not telling you what books to buy or not buy,” Giannoulias said. “What we’re saying is, if a book is in circulation as determined by the libraries and the librarians, that book cannot be banned because a group of individuals don’t like or want that book in their library. That’s what the legislation is all about.”

Opposition on the bill also came closer to home, with Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) questioning the need for this sort of regulation for libraries, adding that “we already have two Bills of Rights, one within the Illinois Constitution and another in the U.S. Constitution.”

“There is absolutely no reason for Illinois libraries to be forced to adopt a so-called ‘Library Bill of Rights’ created by a little-known national organization that is not elected or beholden to the people of our state,” Bryant said in a press release. “Nor should our local libraries’ funding be threatened if they disagree.”

Jamie Wratchford, director of Morrison-Talbott Library in Waterloo, spoke positively about the bill, noting how much negativity libraries have had to deal with as of late.

“Right now, my basic understanding is that really it’s a measure to hopefully protect us and to give us the tools to be able to collectively say that we are not going to engage in removing these items because, as we know, that is happening all of the time all over the place,” Wratchford said.

She said such backlash hasn’t been a problem locally as of yet. Currently, Morrison-Talbott has largely just encountered issues with folks moving books or turning them around so as to hide a book’s cover or spine.

Wratchford said the legislation likely won’t have any impact on library operations per discussions she’s had with the board. The library has already expressed support for the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights in the past.

“Already our perspective, we’re trying to create a very diversified collection that’s representative of all cultures, all ethnicities, all peoples,” Wratchford said. “We want everyone to come to the library and feel welcome and be able to not only see themselves on the shelves but also see others and learn about others.”