A Message from Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian Alexi Giannoulias
April 17, 2025
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Dear Library Colleagues,
I’m writing to share some important news about proposed legislation that our office is spearheading designed specifically to improve security at libraries and enhance safety for librarians across Illinois.
House Bill 2747 and Senate Bill 1550, which were introduced in the General Assembly earlier this year, were both approved last week in their respective chambers. The bills would allow the Secretary of State’s office to issue funding grants to increase security measures at public, school and academic libraries.
As you’re well aware, our libraries and library workers have unfortunately faced an increased onslaught of threats of violence and acts of intimidation. The personal safety and welfare of many of you has been placed at risk for simply doing your jobs.
While current state law contains penalties for threats targeting schools, public officials and human services providers, it does not include the same protections for all libraries and all librarians.
Like you, I firmly believe that libraries should serve as welcoming places for life-long learning and community engagement. Under the legislation, grant applicants would have the ability to use grant funds to install things like security cameras, silent alarms, or security check points, for which funding is not always available and for which these grants have never been authorized to support.
I understand these are challenging times for all of you, especially with the recent federal cuts to library funding across the nation. But your personal safety at work should not be your primary concern.
HB 2747, sponsored by State Representative Mike Coffey of Springfield, now heads to the Illinois Senate and Senate Bill 1550, sponsored by State Senator Laura Murphy of Des Plaines now heads to the House of Representatives. These bipartisan bills also have strong support from the Illinois Library Association and the Illinois Municipal League.
Moving forward, we’ll need your help getting this legislation across the finish line. We’ll keep you updated on the progress of both bills and alert you when they get assigned to Senate and House committees, at which time you will have the ability to submit your support online.
As always, thank you for all that you do!
Sincerely,
Alexi
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