What will the 2018 Illinois State Fair look like with the injection of $30 million from this summer’s budget deal?

“It’s a total game-changer,” says Luke Sailer, Illinois State Fair manager. Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Raymond Poe has previously promised new “roofs and roads” with the money, and Sailer says fairgoers will see roads repaved and redone when the Illinois State Fair starts, running Aug. 9-19.

“People will see an immediate difference when they hit the fairgrounds,” he says, adding that staff is working with the Governor’s Office and the Capital Development Board to prioritize needs and allot funding.

Down the street at the Coliseum, visitors will see a difference, too. Sailer says the Coliseum ticket office is boarded up, and fairgoers will be able to check out posters and blueprints for the overhaul that’s set to begin. While $7 million in emergency funds were initially earmarked for the Coliseum, IDOA reports the Capital Development Board says the $7 million will come out of the $30 million allotted in the budget; it will not be in addition to the $30 million. 

The government remains motivated to make renovations, however. Gov. Bruce Rauner wants the fair back in the Coliseum by the 2019 Illinois State Fair, Sailer says — a lofty but attainable goal. And as Illinois celebrates its 200th birthday in 2018, Sailer reflects that “it hits home that these buildings haven’t been cared for.”

Sailer, who started with the fair in 2015, has been the guy to deliver a lot of bad news the past couple of years: to horse shows when they couldn’t use the Coliseum, and to other events when problems with buildings arose. The $30 million injection is a true game-changer — especially for him.

“We won’t have to worry about shutting down buildings now,” Sailer says. “Now we can say, ‘Welcome to the Illinois State Fair,’ and it can last another 200 years.”

Ag focus
Visitors to this year’s fair will again find barn tours at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., leaving from the Ag Tent with leaders from the Illinois FFA. Trams will circle past barns that house horses, sheep, swine and dairy, plus Piglets on Parade and the FFA Barnyard.

“Coming from an ag background, it’s neat for me to see Springfield kids experience true livestock,” Sailer says. “That’s the take-home message at the Illinois State Fair.”

That message will be hammered home even more in the “Farmers Little Helper” area, with farmers on hand for a couple of hours each day to answer questions from the state fair’s littlest guests. That effort is coordinated by RFD’s Rita Frazer and Illinois FFA’s Mindy Bunselmeyer.

The annual Parade of Champions will again take place at 5 p.m. on Aug. 11 in the Livestock Center. The Sale of Champions will also begin at 5 p.m. on Aug. 14, with longtime farm broadcaster Orion Samuelson at the microphone. That day is the traditional Ag Day, which kicks off with breakfast for thousands at 9:30 a.m. in the Orr Building. Some of USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue’s people will be on hand that day, as well.

DRIVE: Cooper Bertolino, Christian County, showed this barrow to become grand champion at the 2017 Illinois State Fair. The barrow sold for $25,000 to the CME Group in last year’s Sale of Champions.

Sailer has high hopes for attendance. While past Illinois State Fair managers inflated attendance numbers, that balloon was burst when Patrick Buchen in 2015 strove to count and report actual attendance. His commitment to accurate counting and reporting continues with Sailer, who says 500,000 people came through the gates last year.

The fair will embrace the bicentennial theme — “Born, Built, Grown” — which fits the Illinois agriculture mantra.

“We are an agricultural fair,” Sailer says. “That’s our main focus.”

Who are the Illinois State Fair leaders?

The Illinois State Fair Advisory Board serves in an advisory capacity to the staff at the Illinois Department of Agriculture, where just eight staff members run both fair and non-fair events — the shortest-staffed state fair in the Midwest. Here’s a look at the folks who volunteer their time:

• Mike Ammann, Madison County
• Allen Entwistle, Sangamon County
• Bill Fugate, Livingston County
• Gary Hadden, Morgan County
• Cory Jobe, Cook County
• Matt Jungmann, Mercer County
• Mike Martz, DeKalb County
• Gary McConnell, Christian County
• George Obernagel III, Monroe County
• Bill Range, Monroe County
• Sue Schafer, Christian County
• Tami Craig Schilling, Washington County
• John C. Clayton, Sangamon County
• Brad Temple, LaSalle County
• Paul Walker, McLean County