Illinois State Fair: Affordable fun backed by $140M in taxpayer funding

The Center Square YT

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August 7th, 2025

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The 2025 Illinois State Fair is being praised for its affordability and accessibility to families across the state, but it’s also a major public investment, with more than $140 million in taxpayer dollars contributing to the event’s infrastructure and programming.

The Center Square YT

The focus of The Center Square's work is state and local level government and economic reporting. A taxpayer sensibility distinguishes our work from other coverage of state and local issues. As a result of this approach, our audiences are better informed about the focus of state and local government and its cost to the citizens whose tax dollars fund governmental decisions.