Auditor General William Holland has found that
in 2009 the Illinois State Fair lost $2.7 million, while the Du Quoin
fair lost $646,000. Disparaging as that it, those numbers are better
than the previous years losses of $3.7 million and $823,000,
respectively. Even though state law says that the fairs must break
even, audits show that the fairs have lost $21 million since 2005.
