Illinois taxpayers provide nearly $190 million for state fair

(The Center Square) – The Illinois State Fair is expected to generate about $100 million of economic impact after taxpayers invested nearly $190 million for infrastructure and programming.

The fair is set to run from Thursday morning until Sunday, August 23 at the state fairgrounds in Springfield.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said both the Illinois State Fair and the Du Quoin State Fair are important to the economy.

“We’ve got a lot of local retailers, local suppliers, who benefit from the enormous crowds that are showing up,” Pritzker said at the fair’s butter cow unveiling on Wednesday.

The 2025 state fair in Springfield drew more than 723,000 people.

The 2025 Du Quoin State Fair in southern Illinois drew more than 282,000, pushing total state fair attendance in Illinois last year to more than one million people.

Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello said the fairgrounds are an economic engine.

“If you look at the las...