Kane County Reporter

Kendall County Republican Chairman James Marter says Illinois Democrats are overstepping their boundaries with a new bill that would effectively de-fund public libraries that ban books that local officials deem offensive.

Republican Lawmakers are standing against House Bill 2789, which passed the house March 22. The bill would require that as a condition of qualifying for state grants, libraries must adopt a written policy prohibiting the practice of banning books.

"Banning books is the sort of behavior that was once, for good reason, associated with the worst, most repressive and repugnant authoritarian regimes of the mid-20th century and before," said the bill's lead sponsor Rep. Anne Stava-Murray in a story by WLS. "The fact that this is even up for discussion in America in the 21st century is disgusting. And yet, just last year in my district, that discussion was spurred on by a few radical parents and the Proud Boys hate group over a book called 'Gender Queer.'"

Republicans like Marter, however, say the bill is just as radical a move in the opposite direction by Democrats.

"I am confused as to why Springfield thinks they’re in charge of everyone else in this state," he told the Kane County Reporter. "I thought they were supposed to work for us instead of going off on these tangents. Do they even know that you can only have so many books in the library? If the staff chooses not to carry a particular book, that’s a choice left to them. This Democrat Party in Illinois are nanny state elected officials and what they are doing in this state is crazy."

In a recent email sent to a Downers Grove 99 District parent, Supt. Dr. Hank Thiele affirmed his support of the "Gender Queer" graphic novel, which has illustrations of gay sex, being available in the library at Downers Grove North and South High Schools, saying that the book is not, in his view, pornographic. The book was removed from the library shelves of Harlem Unit School District 122 based on a school board vote, with Lynette Hoffman describing the art novel to WIFR as “porn."

Marter argues that simply looking at the issue as a book ban is shortsighted.

"We’re not necessarily talking about banning a book, but rather keeping so-called 'woke' teachers from presenting it to your kids and using our tax dollars to do it," he said.

HB2789 would effectively prevent school boards from banning such books by threatening grant funding, but Marter said such decisions should be made locally.

"The woke left has turned our schools into indoctrination centers for their depravity using our tax dollars," he said. "It’s high time we put the control back in the hands of the parents in deciding what their kids are exposed to. Because of (Illinois Gov.) J.B. Pritzker and woke Democrats, Illinois is the laughingstock of the country with our nanny state policies."