Illinois stands apart as book bans surge nationwide
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
As book bans reached one of their highest levels ever in 2025, Illinois remains one of the few states with legal protections against removing books from schools and libraries.
Why it matters: The normalization and uptick of book bans across the U.S. point to growing censorship and authoritarianism, revealing that titles centered on themes of activism and self-expression are increasingly targeted.
The latest: A PEN America report released last week documents bans on more than 1,100 unique titles during 2024-25 school year — including educational or informational books for young people, such as textbooks, history books, biographies and autobiographies.
State of play: Fiction titles still dominate banned book lists, but during the 2024-25 school year, books from that genre dropped from 85% to 69% of all banned titles, while nonfiction rose from 14% to 29%, compared with the previous year.
By the numbers: 44% of the 3,743 titles banned last school year featured characters or people of color, the largest percentage that PEN America had ever reported.
- 39% of the banned titles featured LGBTQ+ characters or people, up from 25% the previous year.
Zoom in: Limiting access to books about people and events that mirror kids' and teens' experiences makes them feel marginalized and alone, mental health experts warn.
- In the critical period of self-discovery, young readers need to connect with characters and subjects who show them what's possible, rather than force them to feel excluded and different.
- "So many teachers and librarians have told me how this book helped their students see beyond their own biases and think about community in a whole new way," Katherine Applegate, author of "Wishtree," says in the report.
- Virginia parent Jodi Famer called Applegate's book "indoctrination at its finest" in an effort to ban the book.
Reality check: In 2023, Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law stating that Illinois libraries would be eligible for state-funded grants only if they adopt the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights.
- The Bill of Rights states that reading materials should not be proscribed, removed or restricted because of partisan or personal disapproval.
Go deeper: Most banned books in 2025, according to PEN America.
- The Chicago-based American Library Association operates a portal to report book challenges and offers resources on efforts to ban books.