Illinois Law Banning Book Bans Officially In Effect

Last year in June, Illinois’ Governor Pritzker signed HB2789. The bill just went into effect January 1, 2024, and promises to cut funding for any public library within the state that attempts to ban books. It comes after 67 banning attempts were made in Illinois in 2022, and the many book ban attempts and successes in red states.

“Book bans are about censorship; marginalizing people, marginalizing ideas and facts. Regimes ban books, not democracies,” the governor said in June.

The bill makes Illinois the first state to ban books.

Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.