Giannoulias to testify at Durbin’s Senate hearing on growing number of book bans

Illinois is the first state to make a public stand against book bans, but many neighboring states are planning to make it easier for books to be challenged, and the consequences for pushing back against such restrictions more severe. (Daniel Boczarski/Getty)

WASHINGTON — With moves to ban books increasing, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., next Tuesday chairs a hearing on the controversial issue with Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias to testify about the state’s first-in-the-nation ban again bans.

Giannoulias, who took the lead on the legislation that Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed June 12, said in an interview that opposing moves to ban books is a “fight for democracy and the freedom to learn.”