Rockford Sun

Senator Andrew Chesney spoke out about a drag event held at the Rockton Library, in a June 26 news release. The event was a Q&A session, scheduled for July 14.

“I am extremely disappointed in the decision, and believe it does not align with the traditional family values of the Rockton community. While I believe adults can make their own decisions on issues like this, information that relates to sexuality for kids is best taught in the home, or at a minimum, library programs must be age-appropriate. Over the last few weeks, my office has been flooded with phone calls and emails from irate constituents who do not want their tax dollars spent on this type of programming. They feel, and I agree, that this is an inappropriate use of public funds," said Chesney.

The Talcott Free Library's board met in the Rockton Community Center on June 26, after hundreds of individuals gathered to either support and denounce the plan for the July 14 question and answer session with drag queens. The event was originally scheduled as part of the library’s “Find Your Voice” program, and it was designed for youths between the sixth and 12th grades. According to the Rock River Current, the event’s description now reads “LGBTQ+ friendly and anyone interested can attend.” The Rock River Current also noted that the gathering that some of the community members were part of the Rockford Family Initiative, which protested a drag queen story time scheduled at the East Branch of the Rockford Public Library in 2019.

Rockton-Roscoe News reported on June 28 that the board voted 4-2 to continue with the planned event. The outlet noted that the meeting lasted more than two hours, and that the Teen Advisory Board had requested the Drag Q&A event. After the youth librarian passed along the request, staff reached out to Rockford University who provided a recommendation for a performer to come to the event.

CBS 23 WIFR reported that hundreds of individuals attended the meeting to protest the scheduled event. That event was expected to feature area drag queen Krystal Ball, who was expected to show off his costumes and makeup and answer questions. Some of those protesters came to protest with the Rockford Family Initiative, who say children shouldn’t be allowed to attend. There was a group supporting the event as well.