Illinois State Fair Foundation formed to maintain grounds

Katherine Johnson / Flickr

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and agriculture leaders on Tuesday announced the creation of a private foundation to address the decrepit condition of the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

The not-for-profit Illinois Fairgrounds Foundation's task will be to raise funds to maintain the fairgrounds in Springfield and DuQuoin, which the beleaguered state budget has been unable to do.

"This is all to the benefit of the people of Illinois," Rauner said of the foundation, which was announced during Agricultural Day at the state fair. "I think political games have been played with this. This is not a partisan bill. This is all upside. This benefits farmers and taxpayers. There's no losers in this."

By merely walking around the fairgrounds, visitors can see leaking roofs, cracked walls and potholes.

"We've allowed this to go to ruin," Rauner said. "We can't tolerate this anymore."

Combined, the fairgrounds have $180 million in overdue maintenance. The grounds in Springfield have 170 buildings — the oldest 124 years — on 360 acres. The oldest among 20 buildings at DuQuoin — which has 1,200 acres — is 93 years.

Creation of the foundation comes after Rauner's failure to push a bill to create a similar organization through the legislature. He contends the state is losing money from agriculture interests that are instead donating to similar foundations in other states.

Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said the bill raised concerns that creation of a foundation would allow fair projects to bypass state procurement laws.

"As you remember, the procurement reforms were put in after a number of abuses by the Blagojevich administration," Brown told The State Journal-Register in Springfield. "It seemed like not such a great idea to create an entity that had those loopholes built in. That was the resistance. That was pre-Rauner."

Brown said House staff have not had a chance to review the new foundation's structure.

Asked if projects financed by the foundation would follow all state purchasing laws, Rauner said it hasn't been determined. But according to US Bank vice president and foundation member John Slayton, the projects would go through the state's Capital Development Board.

Slayton, who is the longtime auction manager for the Governor's Sale of Champions, where prize-winning rabbits, goats and steers are sold to the highest bidders to raise money for Illinois 4-H and Future Farmers of America, said money has yet to be raised by the foundation. He said all donations will be made public.

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Online: http://www.illinois.gov/statefair/