Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill on Monday aimed at stopping book bans in public schools while standing in front of books that have been deemed sexually explicit and pornographic.
Under the new legislation, libraries will not be eligible to receive state grants if they remove books from their collections or refuse to sign the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which indicates “materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”
“Book bans are about censorship, marginalizing people and marginalizing ideas,” Democrat Gov. Pritzker said at Chicago’s Harold Washington Public Library.
Pritzker signed the bill in front of a shelf of books that have been contested in other states over what some critics have described as pornographic content. Many of the books, including “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, feature explicit illustrations of sex acts. The shelf also showcased “This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson, which similarly features graphic sexual depictions, and even provides detailed instructions for various sex acts. Dawson responded to critics, claiming the book is “definitely not pornographic.”
CEO of Equality Illinois Brian Johnson lauded the bill, remarking, “If reading materials are denied to us, we are denied an opportunity to learn about ourselves.”
The legislation comes as parents across the country have objected to books like “Gender Queer” and “This Book is Gay” being featured in public school libraries.
Meanwhile in Florida, a law went into effect earlier this year requiring books in school libraries to be approved by a librarian or media specialist. Those who provide pornographic books to students could be charged with a third degree felony.
Gov. Pritzker is the cousin of Jennifer Pritzker, a transgender-identified billionaire who has been instrumental in the effort to normalize child transgenderism. Jennifer Pritzker’s Tawani Foundation contributed more than $100,000 to the ACLU to fight a Tennessee law banning the medical transition of minors. Pritzker also gave $500,000 to the Lurie Children’s Hospital’s gender and sex development program in 2016. Pritzker also provided the initial grant money to the gender identity clinic when it first opened in 2013.
Pritzker’s Tawani Foundation also donated $25,000 to Harbor Camps, an overnight summer camp for children as young as 8 years old who identify as “transgender or non-binary.”
Meanwhile, the foundation gave $45,000 to Chicago’s Francis W. Parker School, which Project Veritas reported had given sex toys to students in a lesson on “queer sex.”