Illinois State Fair

State Republican leaders are urging local candidates to stay the course on issues of crime, economics and corruption to help chip away at Democratic strongholds in the suburbs — and not to rely on a bump from former President Donald Trump.

Ahead of the DNC, the state’s top Democrats leaned heavily into the jokes that have circulated in Democratic circles online in support of Harris and Walz. “I have all kinds of hashtags working up in my head about Tim Walz. How about #DadJokes?” JB Pritzker said to laughs.

The Illinois State Fair manager credits good weather and recent renovations for this year's record attendance.

During Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair Thursday, state party leaders sought a message of unity ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called the state a ‘beacon for national success’ when it comes to the 2024 elections.

The cow was sculpted by artist Sarah Pratt and inspired by dairy farmer Lorilee Schultz, from Mill-R-Mor Dairy in northern Illinois who is depicted harvesting milk from one of her cows.

While COVID isn’t as big a concern this year, fairs are keeping in place some of the protocols they picked up during the pandemic. At the same time, they are keeping an eye on other threats to crowd levels.

The 2020 Illinois and DuQuoin State Fairs have been canceled. In a video announcement posted to Facebook, State Fair Manager Kevin Gordon said the...