THEY LEFT "IN WISCONSIN" OFF THE STAR.

When I go to a state or county fair, it is to look at the animals and to partake of too much finger food.  The political parties, of course, have their displays, and in Illinois, with the fairgrounds in Springfield, just about all the constitutional officers of the state have a presence.

Thus, I limited myself to taking a picture of the Democrats' stand.

I've documented the expansion of Wisconsin's middle class at Illinois's expense previously.  You can't pen taxpayers in and shear them, the way you can shear sheep.

The fairgrounds contain an impressive complex of livestock barns, although these were mostly empty.  There's less in the way of raising livestock on a retail scale in farming these days, and a goodly number of Illinois farms are crops only, frequently hired out for artificial fuels.

The political economy of Illinois is interesting, though.  Here is a member of the Waterloo, Illinois (it's St. Louis-side of Springfield) German Band on the Alphorn.

That "Buy American" flag flutters high in the wind above the Labor Hall maintained by the AFL-CIO.  These days, it's a notionally Republican president pushing that message.  Go figure.