Fair’s chickens home to roost

The state cuts the funding and the St. Clair County Fair is kaput. Sounds like we didn’t lose much. Sounds like we gained at least $69,000.

They are still planning a carnival and a demolition derby, so there’s something there for folks who love carnies on the gravel lot and crunched cars on the dirt track.

But the budget impasse and deficit led Gov. Bruce Rauner to announce that the county fair money was no more. Last year that amounted to $3.1 million statewide, $69,000 in St. Clair County, $46,000 in Monroe County and $39,600 in Madison County.

Interesting that the Madison County Fair is still going strong this year despite the state funding cut. St. Clair County couldn’t figure out how to at least break even despite getting about $20,000 more from the state.

Add in to this mix the Mascoutah Homecoming, to be held this year on July 31 through Aug. 2 in Scheve Park. No state money involved.

Their event really looks like a county fair with cows and rides and tractor pulls and good things to eat all in a beautiful city park that the homecoming has built. They make money, too, turning a $250,000 profit last year and putting up a $450,000 building that they donated to the city.

So we don’t weep for the demise of the St. Clair County Fair. Taxpayers win when their dollars don’t go through the state-to-local meat grinder that seems to turn $1 into 25 cents.

This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Fair’s chickens home to roost."