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CORRECTS YEAR TO 2023 - School librarian Jamie Gregory, from South Carolina, displays two books that have been repeatedly challenged in the United States, while seated at the Banned Books from the Big Chair station at the American Library Association's annual conference in Chicago, June 24, 2023. The two books are: "Gender Queer," by Maia Kobabe, and "Out of Darkness," by Ashley Hope Pérez. (AP Photo/Claire Savage)

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Librarians train to defend intellectual freedom and fight book bans at Chicago conference
By CLAIRE SAVAGE - Associated Press/Report for America
Fri,06/23/23-11:11PM , 113 Reads
CHICAGO (AP) — School librarian Jamie Gregory has been called a “pedophile” and “groomer,” bombarded with private messages threatening harm, accused of distributing pornography in schools, and had her personal address posted on social media.

She takes it on the chin.
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In this screenshot from a livestream broadcast by the State of Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs a bill, Monday, June 12, 2023, at Harold Washington Library's Thomas Hughes Children's Library in downtown Chicago. The new law will require the state's libraries to uphold a pledge not to ban material because of partisan disapproval, starting on Jan. 1, 2024. If they refuse, they will not receive state funding. Pritzker said the law will make Illinois the first state in the nation to outlaw book bans. (State of Illinois via AP)

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'First of its kind' Illinois law will penalize libraries that ban books
By CLAIRE SAVAGE - Associated Press/Report for America
Mon,06/12/23-4:12PM , 148 Reads
CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday signed into law a bill that he says will make Illinois the first state in the nation to outlaw book bans.
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Myla Martinez, 6-year-old, enthusiastically greets her mother Crystal Martinez as she and her four younger siblings spend time her with her during a special visit at Logan Correctional Center, Saturday, May 20, 2023, in Lincoln, Illinois. Rare programs like the Reunification Ride, a donation-dependent initiative that buses prisoners' family members from Chicago to Illinois' largest women's prison every month so they can spend time with their mothers and grandmothers, are a crucial lifeline for families, prisoners say. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

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Sharing the sentence: Separation takes toll on incarcerated moms and their kids
By CLAIRE SAVAGE - Associated Press/Report for America
Mon,06/05/23-12:14AM , 215 Reads
LINCOLN, Ill. (AP) — Dressed in her Sunday best — pink ruffled sleeves and a rainbow tulle tutu — Crystal Martinez’s 4-year-old daughter proudly presents her with a multicolored bouquet of carefully crafted tissue paper flowers.
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Shreya Nallamothu looks at her phone in Bloomington, Ill., on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Illinois lawmakers aim to make their state what they say will be the first in the country to create protections for child social media influencers. Nallamothu, 15, raised her concerns to Illinois state Sen. David Koehler of Peoria, who then set the legislation in motion. (AP Photo/Claire Savage)

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Child social media stars have few protections. Illinois aims to fix that
By CLAIRE SAVAGE - Associated Press/Report for America
Sun,05/14/23-8:01AM , 333 Reads
CHICAGO (AP) — Holed up at home during the pandemic lockdown three years ago, 13-year-old Shreya Nallamothu was scrolling through social media when she noticed a pattern: Children even younger than her were the stars — dancing, cracking one-liners and being generally adorable.

“It seemed innocuous to me at first,” Nallamothu said.
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