📚 Libraries vs. Idaho's MAGA

Plus: Larissa FastHorse talks The Thanksgiving Play [View this email in your browser]( [READER Logo]( Daily Reader | April 16, 2024 Over the last few days, I’ve been having mini “love attacks” for a few Chicago mayors (of all people)—at least in regards to how they handled libraries. This unexpected appreciation was brought on by [Idaho’s House Bill 710]( a new law passed in that state that would, among other things, give citizens the right to ban books they find objectionable. And if the libraries don’t ban those books—or, at least, segregate them behind the library counter—they can be sued. The libraries, that is. Not the citizens, who will undoubtedly be hailed as heroes by the MAGA legislators and governor that passed and signed that bill. Obviously, Idaho is crawling with MAGA. It’s all part of MAGA’s larger declaration of war against anything they consider “woke,” even if they’re not exactly sure what woke is. Makes me say thank goodness we live in a city where they don’t ban books or cancel libraries. Though, who knows: the city council’s MAGA faction could adopt book banning as their next cause. Now that they [failed to cancel Alderperson Byron Sigcho-Lopez]( for the high crime of doing something he didn’t actually do. If you want more details on the attempted canceling of Byron, listen to [my April 4 podcast]( featuring the alderperson, or [this](. Now back to libraries . . . Recent Chicago mayors have been relatively benign toward libraries and librarians, with one exception. And we’ll get to him. For instance, Mayor Daley loved building libraries, though I’m not sure he ever visited one after the ribbons were cut. And Mayor Lightfoot’s married to a librarian, so libraries were in pretty good luck as long as she was in office. Finally, there’s Mayor Rahm, who proves there’s an exception to every rule. Mayor Rahm was undoubtedly the worst mayor Chicago's ever had when it came to libraries. I’m not sure he ever visited one—unless he was using it as [a backdrop]( for a press conference he was holding. It was like he viewed library users as losers who should be gentrified out of the city. In his first budget, he proposed cutting library hours and staff on the grounds that . . . Well, he had no grounds other than looking for cheers from the Rauner crowd he was sucking up to. Imagine his surprise when north siders staged a mini revolt which forced him to back off on the proposed cuts. But say what you will about Mayor Rahm, at least he never banned books, like the Republicans in Idaho. Oh, wait! Some of his school officials ordered principals [to take Persepolis]( off the shelves of high school libraries. So, never mind. It’s still too early to judge Mayor Johnson’s library legacy. Here’s my advice, Mr. Mayor . . . Don’t be like Idaho or Rahm. Most librarians are smart, courteous, and helpful. Leave them alone to do their jobs. If anything, give them a raise. Take it out of the money that might otherwise have gone to the Sox and the Bears. [Logo with text: The Ben Joravsky Show. Features man wearing a cap and headphones, and Chicago flag stars.]( 🎙 [Listen to The Ben Joravsky Show]( 🎙 ◈ [The Reformatory]( by Tananarive Due. This novel is so freaking scary and well written. Must read, if you can handle horror. Buy it—or check it out from the library. ◈ [Kelly Cardoza]( Loyola’s latest development plan. ◈ [Ben Joravsky]( (from 2007) on Loyola’s past development plans. ◈ Chicago Teachers Union president [Stacy Davis Gates]( on mayors, media, and basketball. ◈ Coogan Knows the Law podcast host [Jim Coogan]( on O.J.’s gift to Trump. ◈ [D’Frantz Smart]( (one of the city’s greatest point guards and former Whitney Young all star) talks Caitlin Clark, Dawn Staley, Doc Rivers, and lots more basketball. [Anne Morrissy delves into the Taxi Wars of the early 20th century]( Chicago cabs were once on the cutting edge of both innovation and corruption. by [Dmitry Samarov]( | [Read more]( → [a woman sitting on a chair in front of a trailer]( [White liberal guilt meets inconvenient truths in The Thanksgiving Play]( Larissa FastHorse brings humor—and a little bit of medicine—to Steppenwolf. by [Charli Renken]( | [Read more]( → [Clothing swap offers a chance to create a conscious wardrobe]( Chicago Fair Trade’s Conscious Closet Club hosts a clothing swap and benefit at the Weaving Mill’s open house. by [Isa Giallorenzo]( | [Read more]( → [Jazz-pop talent Laufey gives the classics a bewitching overhaul]( by [Selena Fragassi]( | [Read more]( → [We just announced the full lineup for our event celebrating the Best of Chicago!]( Join DJ Bonita Appleblunt, best individual hip-hop artist Rich Robbins, Chicago Magic Lounge magician Luis Carreon, and more on April 25. 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