Taking a new tack in the ideological battle over what books children should be able to read, Illinois will prohibit book bans in its public schools and libraries, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker calling the bill that he signed on Monday the first of its kind. The law, which takes effect next year, was the Democratic-controlled state’s response to a sharp rise in book-banning efforts across the country, especially in Republican-led states, where lawmakers have made it easier to remove library books that political groups deemed objectionable. “While certain hypocritical governors are banning books written by L.G.B.T.Q. The law directs public libraries in the state to adopt or write their own versions of a library bill of rights such as the American Library Association’s, which asserts that “Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”

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Persons: J.B, Pritzker, L.G.B.T.Q, Mr, ” Organizations: Gov, Democratic, Republican, Harold Washington Library Center, American Locations: , Illinois, Chicago