Southwest IL elected official proposes a referendum on drag queen storytimes at libraries
Editor’s note: This article was updated at 10 a.m. Friday with the correct date of the general election.
Voters in the library districts that have organized drag queen storytimes could see a non-binding referendum about those events on their ballots in the Nov. 8 election.
Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler wants to add an “advisory question of public policy” to the ballots of voters in the Collinsville and Glen Carbon library districts that asks them:
“Shall tax-supported libraries and schools promote drag queen events to minors?”
Drag queens are entertainers who use makeup, wigs and fashion to take on a persona with exaggerated feminine characteristics. At storytime events, drag queens read storybooks to children and families.
Drag queen storytimes have been around since 2015 in other parts of the country. They were first organized in the metro-east in June 2021 at the Caseyville Library District.
Collinsville and Glen Carbon libraries hosted theirs this June.
June is Pride Month, when library directors say they aim to offer programs featuring LGBTQ people so that anyone from the community who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer sees themselves represented at their library.
Some people opposed to drag queen storytimes have argued they do not want their tax dollars to go toward organizing those events at public libraries. In response, library directors have said taxes from LGBTQ residents in the community also support the libraries.
Misinformation is influencing the debate. Baseless accusations that drag queens are “grooming” and “sexualizing” children started on the fringes of the internet. The rhetoric moved into the mainstream when it was used by some conservative politicians and commentators in an attempt to mobilize voters.
And it funneled down to community members as local libraries organized drag queen storytime events.
Library directors like Ashley Stewart from Caseyville were left trying to explain what drag queen storytimes actually are.
“They’re here to dress up and read a story,” Stewart said in an interview. “... The sexualizing is just false.”
Prenzler said he opposes the events because he believes drag queens are inappropriate for children. He declined to elaborate on why he thinks drag queens are inappropriate.
“I’m not an expert at drag queens,” he said.
The Republican chairman said his goals with the referendum are to inform the community about these events and gauge public opinion on them.
As of late June, Prenzler and supporters of the question were still gathering signatures on their petition to get the referendum on the ballot.
The Glen Carbon Centennial Library is in its own district covering the village of Glen Carbon. The Collinsville Memorial Library is part of the Mississippi Valley Library District, which is in Collinsville and Fairmont City.
This story was originally published July 1, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
