St. Clair County Fair will be canceled this year

The annual tradition of stock car races, livestock judging and exhibits on display won’t take place this year at the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds and Expo Center.

Financial realities hit the St. Clair County Fair Association as it had to make the difficult decision to cancel its 2015 fair.

Kay Weber, president of the association, said the fair had operated at a loss for a couple of years.

“It was not an easy decision,” Weber said. “It was a hard decision, but something had to be done.”

Weber did not have fair operating figures available.

“Funding for county fairs has been substantially reduced for the past several years,” the fair association said in a letter to the BND. “As a result, the St. Clair County Fair has struggled enormously to maintain a quality fair that we all could be proud of.”

In 2014, the St. Clair County Fair received almost $69,000 from the state. The Madison County Fair received about $39,600 from the state.

On June 12, Governor Bruce Rauner announced another round of budget cuts as the ongoing budget stalemate continues between his office and the General Assembly.

The cuts included suspension of funding to county fairs for premiums and fairground rehabilitation projects. Last year, the state gave about $3.1 million to county fairs around Illinois.

Among the other cuts announced on June 12 were the suspension of capital projects, including construction at state facilities, schools and colleges, suspension of all capital grants for legislators’ earmarks, and suspension of bullying prevention grants.

The administration estimates the moves will save an additional $420 million to help close a $4 billion budget gap.

“It was our hope that things would turn around, however, due to the dire financial situation that Illinois faces, that hope has given way to fiscal reality,” the fair association wrote.

State funding had been the only source of income for the fair, Weber said, adding there was no admission charge or sponsorships.

The length of the fair had been cut to four days from five days three years ago, Weber said.

Fair events included stock car races, a demolition derby, and motorcycle races, among other things. There also were rides, games, livestock judging, crafts and exhibits on display.

“We felt terrible; we felt really bad,” Weber said. “That’s why we held onto it, because we didn’t want to give up.”

There still is some fun planned at the fairgrounds in August.

A carnival is slated to be held from Aug. 12-16, with a demolition derby on Aug. 14, at the fairgrounds, according to the fair association.

The Madison County Fair is still on for this year and scheduled to take place July 21 through 26. Officials for the annual fair in Highland have said there is enough money in its coffers to continue the fair for three years even if it doesn’t make any money this year.

The Monroe County Fair is scheduled to take place from July 19 through 26, according to its website.

This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 2:04 PM with the headline "St. Clair County Fair will be canceled this year."