First!

From The New York Times (gift link): “To Fight Book Bans, Illinois Passes a Ban on Book Bans”:

Taking a new tack in the ideological battle over what books children should be able to read, Illinois will prohibit book bans in its public schools and libraries, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker calling the bill that he signed on Monday the first of its kind.

The law, which takes effect next year, was the Democratic-controlled state’s response to a sharp rise in book-banning efforts across the country, especially in Republican-led states, where lawmakers have made it easier to remove library books that political groups deemed objectionable.

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[“The Democratic-controlled state’s reponse”: How about “the Democratic-led legislature’s response”?]