By the Book

The state of Illinois just became the first state to ban bans.  Illinois just passed a bill making it illegal for county and local governments to ban books for whatever reason there might be.

Governor J.B. Pritzker (above), a Democrat, said that book banning is an affront to the First Amendment and discourages and  stymies the right to a free exchange of ideas. It may be true that some books are so obscene and vulgar that they're not worth the paper they're printed on.  But those aren't necessarily the sort of books that are being banned.  Books that are being banned tend to offer perspectives from marginalized populations such as blacks and non-heterosexuals as well as promoting supposedly un-American ideas such as socialism.  Young-adult books that are frank about the problems of adolescence are also under the gun for their mere admission of such problems, such as the books of Judy Blume (question: would a male Protestant who wrote books about teenage issues receive the sort of abuse a Jewish woman like Blume has received?)  

But, from Chicago to Cairo, at least, you are free to read and assign to students any book you want, because the Land of Lincoln is intent on preserving your rights as an American and as an Illinois resident to read what you like.

Even smut. 😉