Prairie State Wire

The Illinois Freedom Caucus is advocating for Illinois libraries to take inspiration from Montana and break their affiliation with the American Library Association (ALA).

The Freedom Caucus cited what it sees as extreme political views of the ALA’s President Emily Drabinski. The organization included a tweet from Drabinski upon being selected for the position.

“The American Library Association, which is headquartered in Chicago, elected a self-described Marxist as the president of the Association last year. Emily Drabinski began her term as president this month,” the Illinois Freedom Caucus said in a press release. “In an April 13, 2022, Tweet she wrote: 'I just cannot believe that a Marxist lesbian who believes that collective power is possible to build and can be wielded for a better world is the president-elect of @ALALibrary. I am so excited for what we will do together. Solidarity! And my mom is SO PROUD I love you mom.' (@edrabinski).”

The Freedom Caucus believes Drabinski will take advantage of her position to promote her beliefs.

“The idea that Emily Drabinski is not going to use her platform to advocate for her extreme ideology is laughable. Of course, she is going to use the platform to push her radical agenda,” the Illinois Freedom Caucus said. "She made that abundantly clear when she highlighted her ideology and her belief in 'collective power.' The ALA at its core is an advocacy organization and for the next year the ALA will be led by a self-described Marxist.”

While ALA's goal is to "promote library service and librarianship," Freedom Caucus believes the association is becoming "more focused on advancing a woke agenda. Library advocacy should be about promoting literacy and better access to libraries but under the leadership of Emily Drabinski, the ALA will become even more radicalized. We will see even more sexualized content readily available to small children and even more inappropriate programs at libraries.”

“We would never accept a male stripper dancing in front of kids at a library but when they put on women's underwear and lipstick it is not only embraced, it is celebrated by activists like Emily Drabinski, who will use her position to push her radical agenda and undermine the rights and concerns of parents throughout the nation in the process," the press release further reads. "We urge Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias to withdraw the Illinois Library Systems from the American Library Association and we urge all local libraries currently affiliated with the ALA to do the same. It is time to take a stand against the far-left corruption of our institutions.”

Libraries have increasingly become political battlefields as conservative groups claim the publicly-funded entities have been increasingly featuring questionable material, such as what they see as pornography meant for children, and what they see as sexually-themed programming aimed at younger audiences. 

According to Chicago City Wire, a group that calls itself "Gays Against Groomers" is countering claims that opposition to explicit pornographic books in children's libraries equates to being anti-LGBTQ. The group asserts that the LGBTQ community is being exploited to justify the presence of such explicit materials aimed at children. The group specifically called out former President Barack Obama for supporting diverse materials in schools, to which they expressed disappointment and highlighted the need to protect children from what they deem as inappropriate content.

The criticism from the Illinois Freedom Caucus comes after the Montana State Library Commission decided to sever all connections with the American Library Association due to Drabinski’s Marxism. In its letter to the American Library Association, the commission claims its "oath of office and resulting duty to the Constitution forbids association with an organization led by a Marxist."

"That is not the Montana — or Montanans — I know,” Drabinski said on Twitter in response to Montana’s decision.

The Illinois Freedom Caucus is comprised of State Reps. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich), Chris Miller (R-Oakland), Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville), Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City), and Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur). It is part of the broader State Freedom Caucus Network.

“We need patriots who will serve in our state capitals to fight federal overreach and stand firm against those — in both parties — who prioritize seizing political power over representing constituents,” the group’s website reads.