As a mother of 3, a tax payer, and founder of Awake IL and Awake Americans advocacy organizations, I support safe libraries. Like many of you, I share concerns over House Bill 2789 which was signed into law by Pritzker.
Today, I submitted the following letter to my local library board of trustees in Naperville, IL.
See the PDF with hyperlinks at this file:
If you would like to send a respectful message to your local Illinois library board, you are welcome to copy/paste the following template into an email/letter or hopefully it inspires you to craft your own missive. Original commentary is more impactful. I suggest you also CC your local city council, including Mayor. City leadership typically appoints library board members.
Onward towards continued advocacy that promotes children's innocence, common sense, and American values.
Sincerely,
Shannon Adcock
Founder, Awake IL & Awake Americans
TEMPLATE
Dear Library Board,
I write on behalf of myself as a concerned ___________(INSERT CITY) tax payer. In the wake of House Bill 2789 being signed by Governor Pritzker, I would like to express sincere concern over the following portion of the bill:
The bill’s proposition to adopt the American Library Association Bill of Rights.
For the record, I do not call for books to be banned. It is incredibly alarming how swiftly this slippery slope is being realized in Utah, where a school district removed the Bible after deeming it “too violent and vulgar”. There is much hyperbole and chaos around this national debate that is wrongfully labeled “book banning”. I believe this fervor is intentionally limiting much needed conversation around the simple notions of age-appropriateness and community values. House Bill 2789 is a highly politicized effort to paint anyone concerned with age-appropriate content as a “book banner”, “fascist”, or “nazi”. My hope and expectation is that our system will rise above that chaos and be welcoming of all view points while curating safe libraries.
As Awake Illinois President Shannon Adcock remarked to NTD TV recently, during the days of video rental stores, there was a closed off curtain that stocked pornographic content for ages 18+ (or higher depending on the retailer). It wasn’t placed prominently or publicly marketed to minors. The concept of audience maturity is not new. Many institutions are now recognizing the need to fully define age-appropriate material. Should any community lean in to the sexualization of minors? This video is a worthy argument answering “no”.
Unfortunately, a highly ideological agenda is blurring an ethical line and it is infiltrating many government institutions, including schools and libraries. The American Library Association is a national purveyor of this effort. For many years, advocates have highlighted the radical agenda of the American Library Association that is now propagated in House Bill 2789 as an endorsed standard for a “Bill of Rights”. This is very concerning.
According to the Daily Citizen in May 2022, “The American Library Association (ALA) is another national group which supports exposing children to sexually explicit and confusing materials. The organization has a bill of rights which states, ‘A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views’.” Will you define “right” to include minors’ ability to access pornographic content?
Take note that the American Library Association President Emily Drabinski is a self-proclaimed “marxist”. See her April 13, 2022 Twitter post. Marxism, Def.: Marxism is a social, political, and economic theory originated from Karl Marx, focusing on the struggles between capitalists and the working class.
Does our city want to be known as propagating marxism? The best resource for understanding the history of the A.L.A. and its radical agenda is Dan Kleinman of Safe Libraries who has been sued by the Association numerous times and they lost each time; he won. He is now educating the entire country on the devastating precedence being set in IL with House Bill 2789.
The Awake Americans organization plans to educate library boards and citizens in surrounding states on this issue. Meanwhile, every library in Illinois needs to consider whether they plan to subscribe to and affiliate with the American Library Association, a Marxist-led organization. The following action items are for your consideration as you empower yourself with the background and knowledge needed to best represent our community and tax payers in the wake of House Bill 2789 passing in the IL legislature:
Publicly disavow the American Library Association and affirm local control on any issue pertaining to the Naperville Library system. Instead, adopt an independent policy approved by the local library board that reflects Naperville’s values. Consider assembling a community committee that would provide input on a policy draft.
Review the library budget. How much grant money is received and appropriated by the library system? Is it needed to fulfill the library mission? Consider the likely possibility that House Bill 2789 could be amended at anytime to further restrict grant funding. Discern how to maintain local control and autonomy without grant funds from the American Library Association.
Limit the chaos around “book banning” debates and instead refer to “age-appropriateness” and “parent- guided” maturity indexes on all library content. Consider a clear rating system for all mature content (versus “teens”, etc which isn’t well defined).
Ultimately, this bill is a classic example of infringement on balance of government. It’s weaponizing legislation to coerce and strong arm local jurisdiction. We saw it before with the IL public schools and covid mandates which resulted in statewide lawsuits. I implore you to be an example of how to maintain local control while dutifully representing our community values.
Thank you for your time and consideration in support of safe libraries.
Sincerely,
(INSERT NAME)