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“As
many of you know, the Illinois State Fair, one of my favorite
events of the year – and First Lady MK Pritzker and I could not
be happier than when we come to the State Fair,” Pritzker said
at the ceremony.
The first State Fair opened in Springfield in 1853. It then
moved to several different cities before settling at its
permanent location on Springfield’s north side in 1894. It has
been held there every year since then, except for the years
during World War II when the fairgrounds were used as a supply
base for the Army Air Force. There also was no fair in 2020 due
to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The grounds are now undergoing major renovations with an
infusion of $58.1 million from the Rebuild Illinois capital
improvements program. Those include the repaving of several
roads on the grounds, and major renovation to the coliseum and
multi-purpose arena.
This year’s fair is also a special occasion for Secretary of
State White, who is retiring in January after serving a record
24 years in that office. He served as the grand marshal of the
twilight parade that took place Thursday evening.
The fair will run for the next 10 days, concluding Sunday, Aug.
21.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
news service covering state government that is distributed to more
than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the
Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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