Request 035 — 2/4/2026

All hail the butter cow

It’s Wednesday! Happy foiaday!

It might be the dead of winter, but I saw the sun today, and that sun reminded me that in just a few short months, it’ll be… fair weather. 🐄 🧈

So let’s jump in and request some records about Illinois’s favorite summer pastime: the state fair!

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Confession: I’ve actually never been to the state fair. I’ve been to the fairgrounds, for Bruno Mars-related purposes! But never to the state fair itself, which is held in August every year.

In my almost 26 years as an Illinois resident, I’ve failed to make the trek during the summer to Springfield (or Du Quoin, depending on where your allegiances lie), though I have attended a few county fairs in my time, including the Will, DuPage and Kane County fairs. (I should go to more!)

The state fair is primarily facilitated by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, which makes complete and udder (sorry) sense. They also oversee the second, official, sort-of-state-fair in Du Quoin.

I’ve only requested records from Ag a few times, and it’s been a while. So we’ll start with our basic records-retention-with-a-side-of-FOIA-log combo, in order to have it for reference for future requests:

- A log, list, document or data to show all records requests filed with this agency (like a "FOIA log") between 1/1/2024 and the present. Please release documents in a digitized format and include a description of the request, the date of the request, the name or affiliation of the requester and the outcome of the request. Please release the document in a .xlsx or .csv if possible, or a .pdf if not.

- The most recent records retention schedule for the agency, which includes a list of documents kept by the agency and for how long each record is retained. This may be called a general records schedule, a records index, or something else. Please release this in a .pdf if possible.

For the rest of the records, though, I’m curious about a few things, and semi-grasping at straws here.

For one, the fair books talent to perform during these huge concerts — this year, Lainey Wilson (!) is one of the headliners — and I’m curious, in a The Smoking Gun way, what their riders and contracts might be like.

Two: the butter cow.

The butter cow feels like that sort of thing that does, in fact, remind you that you live in the Midwest. It was first sculpted in 1922, and has been a staple of the state fair ever since. (It even has its own webcam, once sculpted!)

The butter gets recycled every year, up to ten years, which is just………………………… interesting. Interesting, resourceful, all of it. But what to request? Purchase orders? SOPs? What records are kept about a butter cow????

I think maybe we just go for “all butter cow records” and happily nab a categorical and broad response if it ends up being too much.

We’ll round out the requests with something more specific: disputes.

The rules and regs for their general exhibitions (everything from “bee culture” to textiles to cured meats and antiques) include clauses about violations and possible disputes about ribbon winners.

That is sure to return something. It’s a specific document! Named in an organizational policy, with subparts!

Keeping all this in mind, here’s what we’ll request in addition to the records retention schedules and FOIA logs:

- Documents related to the state fair's butter cow, including materials used, purchase orders, standard operating procedures or other memos. If needed to keep the request from being unduly burdensome, please limit the search for records between 2020 and 2026. If possible, please release documents in a .pdf or digital format.

- Contracts, riders, addenda, permits, or MOUs between the Illinois State Fair and musical performers between 2023 and 2026. These documents may include technical specs about the performance and set, may include requirements for staff or musicians, and also may include details about the compensation received by musicians. Please release documents in a .pdf or digitized format if possible.

- Copies of disqualification notices issued by the Illinois State Fair between 1/1/2024 and 2/4/2026, including any related petitions filed to protest the Notice of Disqualification as described in 8 Illinois Administrative Code 1 Subpart C. Please also include any evidence provided by external parties that may have contributed to the Notice of Disqualification, as described in this policy (https://statefair.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/statefair/competitions/premium-books/general-book/2025%202%20General%20Show%20Rules%20and%20Regulations.pdf).

I think I definitely have to attend this year. Records requests — and archival records — are great on their own, but they don’t beat the real life experiences that generate those records.

(I really just want to see the butter cow up close.)

More updates on FOIA responses will be written up tomorrow and through this week — spoiler, probably don’t expect any new uploads to the DocumentCloud project anytime soon.

Until tomorrow!

Cam