As Illinois implements more requirements on local libraries in order to access state tax dollars, some are questioning whether state government is overstepping its boundaries.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday signed a first-in-the-nation law that restricts state tax dollars for local libraries that don’t follow certain guidelines from a national group. House Bill 2789 requires state libraries to adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights if they want to receive state grants.
According to the ALA, material cannot be removed from the shelves for partisan or personal reasons. Supporters say the guidelines make clear that people have access to even controversial material while opponents say the law takes away control from locally elected library and school board members.
State Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich, told The Center Square that the decision on what books are suitable for children should be left up to the parents.
“This measure encroaches on parents’ rights,” Niemerg said. “In my mind, it’s parents that have an obligation to raise their children, not the public education system, not the government.”
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, whose office manages taxpayer-funded grants for libraries, spoke at the bill signing alongside Pritzker in Chicago and said parents still have the final say on what their children will read.
“Parents still have the right and the responsibility to restrict their children, and only their children’s access to library resources,” Giannoulias said. “In other words, you get to decide what’s right for your children, but you don’t get to make that decision for anyone else.”
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Related: “Pritzker signs law stripping libraries that ban books from state funding”