North Cook News

Moms for Liberty, a parents' rights advocacy group, is holding an event on Saturday, Sept. 24, from 8:30 a.m to 4:30 p.m.  

“Moms for Liberty IL invites school board candidates to the full day Sept. 24 training seminar with @LeadershipInst in Des Plaines. It will have GREAT resources for your campaign,” Moms For Liberty DuPage IL tweeted. 

The School Board Candidate Training led by Leadership Institute will be held at the Courtyard by Marriott, 2950 S. River Road, Des Plaines.

"Moms for Liberty - DuPage County, IL is dedicated to the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents," the Twitter bio reads.

Parents' rights groups have been recruiting school board candidates in the wake of two years of learning loss triggered largely by COVID protocols that divided schools. Now, parents are fighting back against what they are saying is the unnecessary sexualization of curriculum designed for young children. SB818, the recently approved comprehensive sex education law in Illinois, has led to demands that kids comprehend gender identity as early as second grade, Dupage Policy Journal reported.

Nick Cosme, a 25-year-old teacher from Naperville who teaches third grade, is a recent example. After the school district rejected a complaint, a parent informed Dupage Policy Journal of his classroom behavior. The males in his class may ask him to refer to them as "she" rather than "he," according to reports, who claim that Cosme asked his new students to announce their "pronouns." Cosme, who paints her nails, also read the novel "My Shadow Is Pink," which is about a boy who enjoys princesses, fairies, and other "not for boys" things, to the class, according to Dupage Policy Journal. In the story, a young child who loves is inspired by his father, who imitates him. The book's first chapter features a picture of the muscular father with a mustache. is shown holding his son's collar while wearing a dress and consoling him over his reluctance to wear a dress to school. “So put on that dress, and get back to school. If someone won’t like you then they are the fool,” the passage reads. The school system has defended Cosme’s classroom behavior.

Meanwhile, Naperville 203 – the school district employing Cosme – has seen achievement rates plummet.

Such resident-driven campaigns have become prevalent in the wake of highly sexual novels being placed in schools. Barrington 220 was under fire during summer break after it allowed the inclusion of a graphic sexual novel on the summer reading list. The book, "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe, was recently removed from Harlem High School. "It’s porn," Lynette Hofman said, according to WIFR. "We're talking incest, molestation and pedophilia." Due to its graphic depiction of sex scenes, the book has received a lot of media attention. Kobabe's photographs have drawn criticism from parents around the nation for being too sexual and unsuitable for kids, according to Rockford Sun.