North Cook News

Leading GOP candidate for governor State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) weighed in on the inclusion of Maia Kobabe’s "Gender Queer" on a summer reading list for sixth-grade students. The book has received attention from parents given its graphic depiction of sex scenes.

Parents throughout the country have criticized the book’s inclusion in schools for being overly sexual and inappropriate for children.

“I am deeply troubled by the prospect of what is basically pornographic material being anywhere near a summer reading list for 11-year-olds,” Bailey said in a statement. “There is no acceptable reason to put pornographic books on a summer reading list. Some might try to equivocate and say that the book in question is not a requirement, but teachers’ suggestions carry a lot of weight. It is kind of like voluntary practices for sports teams that in reality are not voluntary at all. As governor, I would put pressure on local districts to stop promoting books harmful to our kids. Parents, teachers and administrators at the local level should be united in a common desire to protect kids. Local people at Barrington School District 220 need to get involved to protect kids.”

Bailey, a member of the Education Committee in the Illinois State Senate and a former school board president for 12 years, stated that “the decision to expose kids to this kind of sexually explicit material should be made by parents not teachers, school boards or school administrators."

He said sexualizing kids is wrong. 

"Schools need to get out of the far-left propaganda business and get back into the education business," Bailey said. 

The conservative Republican has a long history in education leadership. In southern Illinois, he and his wife Cindy established a Christian school. He also served on the North Clay Unit 25 Board of Education for 17 years, according to his campaign website. Bailey pledges to "advocate for common sense education reforms that put our children first," his campaign stated.

The school board members were criticized by worried parent Nelda Munoz for recommending the book to pupils via a list of summer reading materials that included "Gender Queer" a few days before Bailey's remarks, North Cook News reported.

"You guys make the decisions over there. OK, 11-year-old. Alright?! Now, from this book – brother talking to sister. ‘So you never tasted yourself?’ Sister shows brother vagina slime. There’s words, ‘blowjob,' ‘gayship.’ This is exactly what I would expect a pedophile to behave when approaching a child,” Munoz said at the meeting.

Bailey has established a large lead in the polls as the gubernatorial primary season draws to a close on Tuesday. According to surveys, 32% of respondents said they had voted for Bailey, as opposed to 17% for Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin. Sullivan garnered 11% of the vote, making him the only other candidate to receive support in the double digits. Businessman Gary Rabine scored 6%, followed by former state Sen. Paul Schimpf with 4% and Max Solomon with 2%, according to WGLT.