Illinois State Fair Hopes Changes Mean More Visitors

The guy working at the "Guess Your Weight and Age" booth at the Illinois State Fair would like to see more contestants, and so would Illinois State Fair organizers.

According to published reports, last year, under 370,000 people attended the Illinois State Fair. That number was down from over 400,000 attending in 2017. The fair's least attended day last year was Monday when under 25,000 people came. Weekend attendance rose to around 40,000 people.

So, what's to blame for sagging attendance? No one is saying exactly, but a clue might be in this year's admission price-cut.

Ticket prices were raised in 2016, but flagging attendance and a lot of complaints have seemingly caught the attention of the powers-that-be. They've trimmed admission prices this coming Sunday through next Thursday in half, from $10 to $5.

Although officials say that weather and some earlier school start-dates have something to do with less people showing up, they've been busy re-paving streets and replacing roofs. The State Journal-Register reports that construction crews have put final touches on the first phase of renovations to the 118-year-old Coliseum building.