© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Illinois becomes the first state in the U.S. to ban book bans

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The battle over what books should be in public schools and libraries may be over, at least in the state of Illinois because the state is the first to ban banning books. From member station WBEZ in Chicago, Alex Degman reports.

ALEX DEGMAN, BYLINE: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the state's new law in Chicago's Harold Washington Library before a display of targeted books and said only regimes like Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and the Taliban demand banning books.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JB PRITZKER: We refuse to let a vitriolic strain of white nationalism coursing through our country determine whose histories are told, not in Illinois.

DEGMAN: Pritzker said there were nearly 70 attempts to take books off library shelves last year. Proponents of book bans say they're protecting children from ideas they don't consider age appropriate or are otherwise objectionable. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias was the force behind the state's new law.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ALEXI GIANNOULIAS: The simple act of reading a book is a restricted write.

DEGMAN: Giannoulias oversees school and public library grants and calls librarians heroes. He says many of the attempted bans involve authors who are either LGBTQ or queer or people of color. And he says many librarians are leaving the profession because of harassment.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GIANNOULIAS: It's honestly hard and deeply disheartening to figure out how we got to this point.

DEGMAN: Under the Illinois law, libraries have to adopt the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights or similar language. It says, among other things, that materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval. If the public or school library chooses not to follow these guidelines, they'll lose access to grant funding. No Illinois Republican supported the bill. During the legislative debate, State Senator Jason Plummer said residents elect local library boards and pay local taxes. And they, not the ALA, should have the final say.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JASON PLUMMER: None of your constituents voted for this random organization. And you're taking their powers away from them simply because you may not agree with their beliefs.

DEGMAN: According to the American Library Association, there were efforts to ban more than 2,500 books nationwide last year, a nearly 40% increase over 2021. At the bill signing, ALA executive director Tracie Hall talked about freedoms that Americans have and said everyone should be proud of the state's new library law.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRACIE HALL: History will surely note that we, librarians and legislators, civic leaders and community stewards did not stand idly by and let the right to read and to freely access libraries be taken from us.

DEGMAN: The state's new law that aims to prevent any further book bans takes effect January 1.

For NPR News, I'm Alex Degman in Springfield, Ill.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Alex Degman

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $21 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $21 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.