Illinois State Fair - Bills and Prizes

Illinois has money to pay for the State Fair, but not to pay its bills.  Hmmm. Scott Reeder, in his story at The Southern Illinoisan brings up good points about prize money doled out for "flower arranging" and other vastly important activities and contests. He differentiates between the prizes given to adults and those given to children, their lambs and 4H and other such educational venues.  Since the 944 dollars in prizes at the first State Fair in 1853, prizes awarded have had a growth rate of 36 times the rate of inflation and now top out at over $883,500.
"Separate line items exist in the budget for youth programs like 4-H  and FFA..." ($786,400 for 4-H) and ($325,000 for FFA).

The 4H and FFA prizes make some sense. The other 3/4 of a million plus do not make much fiscal sense in a state that can't make ends meet.