Book bans thwarted in Illinois libraries, but battle continues in schools
As “The Hill We Climb,” Amanda Gorman’s poem written for President Joe Biden’s inauguration, has been placed on a restricted list in a Florida School district following a parental complaint, Illinois is headed in the other direction, with new legislation awaiting the governor’s signature, setting a precedent in the fight against bans across the state.
House Bill 2789 – which awaits Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature – was an initiative of the Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and sponsored by Democratic State Rep. Anne Stava-Murray of Downers Grove and Sen. Laura Murphy of Des Plaines.
The bill authorizes grant funding to libraries that adhere to the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which state reading materials should not be removed or restricted because of partisan fights or censorship concerns.
Yet the legislation, while groundbreaking, does not directly affect the numerous bans in school districts across the state.
Where the bans are
The American Library Association notes that there have been 69 book titles challenged aross Illinois in 2022, with 43 attempts to restrict access to books.. Beyond those total numbers, the Association has declined to release specifics on where the bans are, out of fear of repercussions to those librarians and others reporting the bans. Even the Illinois State Library does not have access to a full list, Secretary of State spokesman Henry Haupt said.
“The reports come in confidentially, and we don’t release (a full list) in order to protect library staff and workers,” Raymond Garcia, a communications associate at the Association, told the Center for Illinois Politics.
Yet, several other individuals and organizations, including Tasslyn Magnusson of the Every Library Institute and PEN America have kept tabs on attempts to ban books by school district, library, and state (the most current data, in many cases, comes from the 2021-22 school year).
The bans and restrictions, according to these databases, include:
- The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas, restricted in ROWVA Community Unit School District 208.
- Gender Queer, A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, banned in Harlem School District 122, restricted in Lake Forest Schools
- Saga by Brian K. Vaughan, restricted in Lake Forest Schools.
Challenged, but upheld:
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Housseini, described as “too raunchy” by parents but upheld at Ottawa Township High School.
- Gender Queer, A Memoir, by Maia Kobabe, retained in Barrington District 220, Downers Grove District 99.
- The Opposite of Innocent by Sonya Sones, retained in Harlem School District 122.
- Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson, retained in Harlem School District 122.
- Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Space Out by Susan Kuklin, retained in Harlem School District 122.
- Lawn Boy by Jonathan Envison, retained in Harlem School District 122
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, retained in Harlem School District 122.
- I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez, retained in Harlem School District 122.
Unknown or Limbo Status:
- Lawn Boy, by Jonathan Envision, challenged in McLean County Unit District No. 5.
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, under review in Elmhurst School District 205.
- Gender Queer, A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, in McLean County Unit District No. 5.
Top banned books, nationwide
According to the ALA, these are the top 10 banned books across the country:
1. Gender Queer: A Memoir, by Maia Kobabe
Number of challenges: 151
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
2. All Boys Aren't Blue, by George M. Johnson
Number of challenges: 86
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
3. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
Number of challenges: 73
Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, EDI content, claimed to be sexually explicit
4. Flamer, by Mike Curato
Number of challenges: 62
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
5. (tie) Looking for Alaska, by John Green
Number of challenges: 55
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
5. (tie) The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Number of challenges: 55
Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, LGBTQIA+ content, drug use, profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit
7. Lawn Boy, by Jonathan Evison
Number of challenges: 54
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
8. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Number of challenges: 52
Challenged for: profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit
9. Out of Darkness, by Ashley Hope Perez
Number of challenges: 50
Challenged for: depictions of abuse, claimed to be sexually explicit
10. (tie) A Court of Mist and Fury, by Sarah J. Maas
Number of challenges: 48
Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit
10. (tie) Crank, by Ellen Hopkins
Number of challenges: 48
Challenged for: drug use, claimed to be sexually explicit
10. (tie) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, by Jesse Andrews
Number of challenges: 48
Challenged for: profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit
10. (tie) This Book Is Gay, by Juno Dawson
Number of challenges: 48
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, providing sexual education, claimed to be sexually explicit
*Source: American Library Association
Who’s behind them:
Of the more than four dozen groups identified by PEN America that are seeking book bans at national, state and local levels includes the conservative group Moms for Liberty, which started in Florida, and is directly linked, per the report, to 20 percent of book bans put in place in the 2021-22 school year. The group has Illinois chapters in Cook County, DuPage County, Lake County, and Henry County.
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