Talcott Free Library to go forward with drag queen event after hundreds rally outside board meeting

By Helen Karakoudas
Special to the Rock River Current
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ROCKTON — A small library district in northern Illinois has become the latest battleground over drag queens.

Roughly 500 people filled the streets outside the Rockton Community Center in the northern Winnebago County village to demonstrate both against and in support of the Talcott Free Library’s plans to hold a drag queen question and answer session on July 14.

The library’s board of trustees ultimately voted 4-2 to go forward with the event after hearing from speakers on both sides of the issue. Board President Gary Kovanda and Vice President Bob Geddeis were the two no votes.

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The regularly scheduled library board meeting was moved to the community center because of the size of the crowd.

The drag queen Q&A was planned as part of the library’s teen summer program called Find Your Voice. At issue is whether a drag event is appropriate at a taxpayer-funded venue.

Originally listed as being for sixth to 12th graders, the event’s Facebook description was changed in the last week to say “LGBTQ+ friendly and anyone interested can attend.”

The library, at 101 E. Main St., is the village’s only library.

Protesters and counter-protesters started gathering outside around 4:30 p.m. before the 7 p.m. start of the board meeting.

The first person in line at the Rockton Community Center, 302 W. Main St., was William Landerholm of Rockton, a father of six. His youngest, a daughter, is 17.

“Library boards have a stewardship to the community. They fail in their stated mission goal to provide a safe space for young and old when they allow predatory sexual idealogues to indoctrinate our children,” Landerholm said.

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While the crowd grew in front of the community center, an organized group of counter-protesters gathered at 5:30 p.m. at a park pavilion several blocks away. Speakers there included Jessica Green of Rockton, a co-organizer of the counter-protest, the Rev. Violet Johnicker of Brooke Road United Methodist Church in Rockford, and Phyllis Gallisath and Eden Brown of The Liam Foundation, a nonprofit in Rockford that provides LGBTQ+ educational resources to schools, businesses and community groups.

By 6:30 p.m., after the counter-protesters had marched to the community center and faced the protesters, crowds on each side grew to about 200. By the time the library board meeting started shortly after 7 p.m., each side had approximately 250 people.

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Joining Rockton residents in protest were members of the Rockford Family Initiative, a group led by Rockford activist Kevin Rilott. The group had also protested the drag queen story hour at the East Branch of the Rockford Public Library in 2019.

One of the first protesters to speak before the library board Monday was Constance Gleasman of Rockton.

“It is the responsibility of elected representatives to give paramount attention to the protection of children and families,” she told the board, according to a copy of the speech provided to the Rock River Current. “The subject at hand is of an adult nature and does not belong in the library as a program for the youth.”

Gleasman said the library dedicated one hour for Rockton Township residents to speak on the issue. It had two lists, one of speakers in favor and one against. Each speaker was asked to exit the building after completing their three-minute speech.

Only 90 people were allowed in the building at a time, per the fire code. There were no media seats in the meeting room. One of the counter-protesters livestreamed the procedure on Facebook.

Outside, protesters sang “God Bless America” as counter-protesters chanted “Libraries are for everyone.”

Repeated citations of The Lord’s Prayers were met with chants of “Love thy queer neighbor.”

As members of the Rockton Police Department and the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department stood by, exchanges frequently escalated with several protesters approaching counter-protesters shouting, “Go home. We don’t want you here.”

Counter-protesters responded with, “Hey, hey, ho, ho. These homophobes have got to go.”

Members of the Rockford clergy stepped in to separate people, including Johnicker and Pastor Frank Langholf of Emmanuel Lutheran Church.

When the library decision was announced, counter-protesters hugged and cheered and protesters immediately began making plans to return the afternoon of July 14.

“I’m not surprised,” Rilott said about the board’s decision. “We know the fight against sin is a long fight. We will be back at the event to protect children and stand by what is right.”

The drag queen scheduled is Krystal Ball, who regularly performs at adults-only shows at The Office Niteclub and Show Lounge in Rockford and who this year gave information and answered questions at a Drag Q&A for young adults at Rockford University, a private college in Rockford.

“They let me know that the safety of myself and the people going to the event were their priority, and the staff would be working hard throughout this event to make sure they would ensure that,” Krystal Ball said in an email referring to planning for the event, which started in January.

Krystal Ball is a 26-year-old gay man who grew up in Belvidere and now lives in Rockford. He has been performing as a drag queen for over six years.

“They didn’t give any guidelines because we both understood that the Q&A was part of their teen library program,” he said. “So I knew that what I was presenting had to be appropriate for that age group, and they knew I was competent enough to deliver that.”

Gallisath said The Liam Foundation would provide added security for the drag queen.

Johnicker said the library board’s vote “was a victory for the beautiful diversity of all of God’s creation.”

“We’re thrilled to see that freedom of expression was affirmed,” Johnicker said. “People of faith from across the region are celebrating that this is a community where people really love their neighbors, and we’re committed to supporting enthusiastic and inclusive welcome for drag queens especially. ”

This article is by freelance journalist Helen Karakoudas. Email feedback to news@rockrivercurrent.com.