News Local/State

Finances Will Shelve The 2014 Macon County Fair

By The Associated Press
 

Macon County's fair will not be held this year. It's the first break in almost 160 years and organizers say finances are the cause.

Fair Board Treasurer Teresa Wilson said Wednesday during an Illinois Department of Agriculture hearing that the fair will not be held this year.

Instead the board plans a smaller-scale Macon County Fairgrounds Festival to try to generate revenue. The hearing was held to determine if the fair can be reimbursed by the state for prizes.
 
According to The Herald & Review, the fair owes more than $36,000 in prizes for livestock exhibitors from last year.
 
The department's Charlyn Fargo argued the fair can't be reimbursed if it hasn't yet paid.
 
A mediator will make a decision.