No list of who got free tickets at state fair

SPRINGFIELD — Hundreds of people received free tickets to see the top musical acts who performed at the Illinois State Fair this year, but the agencies that gave away those tickets didn’t keep a list of who got them, according to a published report.

Several state agencies gave out a total of 1,997 tickets, valued at from about $10 to $40, to see acts including Lady Antebellum and M.C. Hammer, The State Journal-Register reported Monday. The newspaper filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get information on who received the tickets but reports that no list exists.

Most of the tickets went to radio and television stations to give to the public for promotional purposes. Those stations are barred from allowing employees to use the tickets, said Department of Agriculture spokesman Jeff Squibb.

The Agriculture Department received and handed out 144 tickets but didn’t keep track of who got those tickets.

“They are given out on request to dignitaries, guests, employees and others, but no such list exists,” Squibb said.

Gov. Pat Quinn’s office also received 144 tickets and gave out 75, according to Quinn spokeswoman Annie Thompson, who says most were given to the families of Illinois veterans through the Gold Star program.

“Otherwise, they were just given out informally the day before the concert,” Thompson said.

David Morrison, deputy director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said he was surprised the state does not keep track of who got the tickets.

“It would seem prudent to keep a list,” Morrison said. “On each individual ticket, it doesn’t matter whether it goes to a reporter or some group that’s sponsoring the event or some veteran who’s been fighting (for) our freedom. The overall picture does matter and goes to how well the event is being managed.”