Libraries should put children's safety first

It is a sad day when pedophiles' rights come before the rights of children to be safe in a public library. Recently, a young girl was sexually assaulted in the Chicago Public Library, and it is the fault of the Illinois Library Association that this occurred.

The Illinois Library Association fought state representatives from changing the laws to prohibiting these convicted criminals from entering public libraries two years ago. The ILA attorney was proud of his claim to having stopped the state legislature from trying to prohibit pedophiles in public libraries.

Illinois laws prohibits them in schools and park district buildings and that is needed in libraries as well. The Illinois Library Association needs to wake up and understand that their responsibility is to the general public not criminals.

Technology exists online that lets people use the library even if they are not in it physically. Children are everywhere in libraries and many libraries today cannot afford in-house security or police presence.

I am familiar with this because it was state Rep. Fred Crespo who led this fight, and he had the foresight to see the need to protect children.

There is no cure or rehabilitation for pedophilia, so the focus has to be on protecting children. I hope he and his fellow legislators renew this fight to protect children because obviously as the laws exist today, they are not working to protect children.

The Illinois Library Association should be ashamed of itself.

Candace McCreary

Streamwood