(Morbidly obese) Gov. JB Pritzker, second from right, unveils the 2022 State Fair BUTTER COW. Also pictured are Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, (also obese) first lady MK Pritzker and Ag Director Jerry Costello II. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock)
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois State Fair organizers unveiled the 101st State Fair butter cow Wednesday, an unofficial kickoff of the fair which begins Thursday and runs through Aug. 21.
The sculpture – by Iowan Sarah Pratt – consists of more than 800 pounds of recycled butter in the shape of a cow munching on a sunflower. It also pictures a farmer tending the land and growing sunflowers, one of which was eaten by the cow.
The theme of the 2022 fair and butter cow is “Grow with Us.”
It’s a nod to the state’s agriculture industry as well as $58.1 million in construction that is planned at the fairgrounds, according to Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II. The renovations are funded by the state’s Rebuild Illinois capital infrastructure program, approved on bipartisan lines in 2019.
Pritzker, at the unveiling Wednesday, said the theme for the year was fitting for Illinois, pointing to job growth and infrastructure investment.
Rebecca Clark, who was named the new fair manager this year, said the theme also touches on the fair’s agricultural roots.
“That theme is really indicative in so many ways out here on the fairgrounds, from the improvements that you see on the grounds to the youth exhibitors that show year after year in our celebrated barns,” Clark said.
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