How can you not be pedantic about official government news releases?

Last week, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias trumpeted “legislation to enhance protections for Illinois libraries and librarians.” Starting in 2026, the office can issue grants for increasing physical security measures at libraries, such as checkpoints, silent alarms and security cameras.

The first flaw in the release is that despite naming the legislators who led the bill through the House and Senate – state Rep. Michael Coffey Jr., of Springfield, and state Sen. Laura Murphy, Des Plaines – the text doesn’t identify either official by party (Coffey is a Republican, Murphy a Democrat) and more importantly omits the bill number.

This provides a good opportunity to visit the recently revamped ilga.gov. There’s a dropdown menu for each chamber. Selecting members delivers a roster page with profile photos, sorted by last name rather than district number (a good design choice). Clicking on Coffey’s photo yields a brief biography and all the bills he sponsored in the current session.

A “filter primary sponsor bills” button winnows the list. There at the bottom is Senate Bill 1550, “Library Systems-State Grants,” listing Murphy as the chief sponsor and noting the last action date of Aug. 1, when the governor’s signature converted the bill to Public Act 104-0108. This is the pathway to accessing the full bill text and voting history (111-0 in the House, with seven excused absences, and 55-1 in the Senate with three abstentions and one “no” vote from state Sen. Andrew Chesney, R-Freeport).

Of larger rhetorical interest is the way Giannoulias frames the plan versus what it actually accomplishes.

“The legislation comes after several libraries across the state received bomb threats in recent years, including the Illinois State Library,” according to the release. “There have been more than 25 bomb threats with multiple libraries responding to repeat threats during the past two years. While state law contains penalties for threats targeting schools, public officials and human services providers, it does not include the same protections for all libraries and librarians.”

As frequently observed here, legislation billed as protective often amounts to enhancing penalties in hopes of protective or preventive effects. SB 1550 is different in that it does (subject to appropriations) create an actual pathway for physical protection of people and public property. Yet if fortifying public spaces deterred threats, there would be a downturn in such activity instead of a demonstrated increase.

It’s apparent that the intent is to frame money as a response to fear. And politicians typically aren’t forthright about limits of their own power, but that makes it incumbent on voters to read between the lines to understand what’s actually happening.

This clearly isn’t Illinois’ most pressing concern, but a little civic education goes a long way.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.