News

No governor, but state fair parade draws big crowd anyway

Posted August 09, 2007 11:00 pm

John Reynolds

Gov. Rod Blagojevich wasn't there, so Phil Brooks turned his back on the Illinois State Fair Twilight Parade Thursday as a group of the governor's supporters passed by with signs touting his plan for universal health-care coverage.

"It's my protest against the million dollars that they spent for the extended (legislative) session to get the budget passed," said Brooks, of Springfield. "They ought to get the people in a room, settle it and not have to go through all of this."

Rebecca Rausch, a spokeswoman for Blagojevich, said his decision not to be in the parade, the traditional kickoff for the Illinois State Fair, had nothing to do with the crowd's possible reaction. She said he wanted to remain at the Statehouse in case the Senate acted on a state budget that had been approved earlier in the day by the House.

The governor is expected to be at this morning's ribbon-cutting for the state fair, which continues through Aug. 19.

While the budget impasse - and the possibility of state employees not getting paid on time -was on some people's mind, most appeared to have put their concerns aside to enjoy the parade, which stretched for blocks through downtown Springfield en route to the fairgrounds.

"I honestly haven't worried about it," said Chris Licht of Auburn, an employee of the state Department of Revenue who was watching the parade near its starting point at Ninth Street and North Grand Avenue.

"They use to do this when I worked in the military," he said of the delayed paychecks. "It's no big deal."

Thursday's parade kicked off at 6 p.m. with an Illinois State Police squad car in the lead. Following were police cars from Springfield, Sangamon County and other law enforcement agencies, as well as a line of fire trucks from Springfield and surrounding towns.

As always, many parade participants had candy, which they shared with hundreds of eager kids who lined the route. A police officer on Ninth Street near North Grand spent a lot of time walking back and forth, telling the excited children to stay on the sidewalk.

At the other end of the age spectrum, watching the parade near Ninth and North Grand, was Wilma Britton, 83, of Springfield. She was wearing a patriotic outfit that consisted of red shoes, white slacks, a red white and blue top, and a red white and blue hat.

Holding a wooden cane in front of her, she stood while several military honor guards passed.

"I'm 83 years old, and I've been going to the fair every one of those years," Brittin said, adding that when she was little girl, her family would take their own food to the fair and leave it in the car. At lunchtime, they would go back to the car and have a picnic, complete with corn-on-the-cob.

"I just like the excitement of the fair," Brittin said.

Sans Blagojevich, Thursday's parade did feature some politicians, along with the traditional floats, classic cars, and high school marching bands.

Heat is another tradition. But despite a heat advisory that's been in effect the past couple of days, the temperature wasn't that bad - around 85 degrees when the parade began.

A few blocks to the south of where Licht and Britton were sitting, Lewis Dean Partridge, 73, was watching the parade from the front lawn of a friend with his son and grandson.

"I've been coming to the parade since I was about 18," he said. "I like the people, the excitement and being outside. The main thing is almost everyone is in a good mood."

Illinois State Fair Twilight Parade award-winners were as follows:

Commercial Float

1st (Grand Marshal's Award) - Bob's Bait 'N Tackle

2nd (Director's Award) - Mill Creek Alzheimer's Special Care Center

3rd (Illinois State Fair Award) - Wal-Mart/Sam's Club

Non-Commercial Float

1st (Grand Marshal's Award) - CORA

2nd (Director's Award) - Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

3rd (Illinois State Fair Award) - Prevent Child Abuse Illinois

Other Awards

Judges' Special Award (humor) - Bob's Bait 'N Tackle

Lincoln Award (Illinois romance) - WalMart/Sam's Club

Superintendent Award (craftsmanship) - CORA

Walking Units

1st - Troupe Zahava

2nd - Springfield BMX Club

3rd - Real Life Church

Specialty Units

1st - Illinois 4-H Office

2nd - Lincoln's Laffers Clown Alley

3rd - Springfield Parents of Twins Club

Marching Band

1st - Lincoln Way Central High School

2nd - Normal West High School

3rd - Rochester High School

Political writer Bernard Schoenburg contributed to this report. John Reynolds can be reached at (217) 788-1524 or john.reynolds@sj-r.com.

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