Gov. JB Pritzker was joined by Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, advocates, and lawmakers Monday at the Harold Washington Library to sign legislation outlawing book bans in Illinois. 

This legislation comes following a nationwide rise in the targeting of literature, libraries and books in an effort to censor certain material. 

Targeted books cover a wide range of categories and predominantly consists of stories by and about people of color and the LGBTQ+ community, the governor said.

“Here in Illinois, we don’t hide from the truth, we embrace it,” Pritzker said. “Young people shouldn’t be kept from learning about the realities of our world; I want them to become critical thinkers, exposed to ideas that they disagree with, proud of what our nation has overcome, and thoughtful about what comes next. Everyone deserves to see themselves reflected in the books they read, the art they see, the history they learn. In Illinois, we are showing the nation what it really looks like to stand up for liberty.”

This new legislation, HB2789, protects the freedom of libraries to acquire materials without external limitations. 

Prior to this, Illinois law did not provide such protections and according to the American Library Association, there were 67 attempts to ban books in Illinois in 2022.

HB2789 tasks the Illinois State Librarian and Illinois State Library with adopting the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights statewide. This bill of rights indicates that reading materials should not be proscribed, removed, or restricted because of partisan or personal disproval. 

Illinois libraries would only be eligible for state-funded grants if they adopt this Library Bill of Rights.

The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2024.

Pritzker recently included $1.6 million in the Fiscal Year 2024 state budget to launch Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library statewide. This initiative includes a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth to age 5, no matter a family’s income.