Scott Reeder: Illinois State Fair never pays its way

Losers.

State and county fairs count on them.

They are the folks who hand their dollars to carnies to throw darts at balloons or toss ping-pong balls at fish bowls.

But, unfortunately, the Illinois State Fair has become the home of another kind of loser: the failed political candidate.

And until this year, administration after administration — Republicans and Democrats alike — have handed the job of state fair manager to politicians who have lost elections.

The job’s become a sort of concession prize for those who can’t win the support of voters.

And, ultimately, the real losers are the Illinois taxpayers who have ended up seeing their tax dollars poured into the money-losing festivals year after year.

Governors Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn appointed Amy Bliefnick to run the State Fair after she made an unsuccessful bid for the state legislature as a Democrat.

Her predecessor, Republican Harold “Bud” Ford, was appointed by Gov. George Ryan. Ford too made an unsuccessful bid for the legislature. Later he worked on Ryan’s campaign.

“George Ryan appointed me state fair director as a reward for the help I gave him in getting elected,” Ford told me last year. “I worked on his campaign, and helped George carry 25 counties in northern Illinois. I let him know that the only position in the administration I was interested in was heading the state fair.”

Patronage appointments such as these have been commonplace in the Land of Lincoln.

They also have helped land the state in the financial quagmire we are now in.

The Illinois State Fair manager job pays $120,000 a year. And a house on the state fairgrounds is provided as well.

But, of course, patronage costs us in more ways than just the salary and benefits of the individuals involved.

Where it really costs taxpayers is when people who aren’t the most qualified are managing money and projects on our behalf.

And that’s what has happened in Illinois, until recently.

Political cronies have managed Illinois’ two state fairs. One is in Springfield and a second is in DuQuoin, in southern Illinois.

The two state fairs lost $71.2 million between 1993 and 2013.

This year, Gov. Bruce Rauner appointed Patrick Buchen to head both fairs. Previously, each fair had its own manager.

“Someone asked me if I had a background in Illinois politics. My response was, ‘No.’ I haven’t even lived in Illinois since I graduated from Monmouth College,” Buchen, 63, said.

What Buchen does have in his portfolio is plenty of experience in the trade-show and agriculture industries.

“I grew up on a farm, spent many years with the purebred cattle associations. And I have some fair experience. I not only have been going to fair’s since age 9, when I was in 4-H. … I also managed the Indiana State Fair.”

Buchen said the key for the Illinois State Fair operations to gain greater financial success is to have the two fairgrounds used more for events, such as trade shows and concerts, when the fairs aren’t taking place.

While it is refreshing to have someone qualified at the helm of the state fairs, one can’t help but wonder: Are fairs a service state government should continue to provide?

In some other states, private foundations operate state fairs without taxpayer support. Given the state’s perpetual budget crisis, isn’t this an idea worth pursuing in Illinois?

Scott Reeder is a columnist with Illinois News Network, a project of the Illinois Policy Institute.

EmaiL: sreeder@illinoispolicy.org.

Follow Scott Reeder on Twitter at: @scottreeder