Rauner's first pick for ag director was a farmer. But Philip Nelson, who came to the job after serving as the president of the Illinois Farm Bureau, resigned in late September, less than a year into the job.

No reasons were given for the resignations of state Agriculture Director Phil Nelson and State Fair manager Patrick Buchen.

If you noticed the price of eggs going up this summer - there's a reason. Several states' bird populations were hit -- hard -- by avian flu. Wild birds, captive ones, and commercial and backyard poultry. But no cases were detected in Illinois.

Despite ideal weather, State Fair officials report fewer than 412,000 people attended this year.  The state provided no explanation for the figure that was less than half the 961,000 who attended as recently as two years ago.

Oak Park-based PharmaCann will operate two cultivation sites and three dispensaries.  A site for growing its first crops in Livingston County could start operations as soon as mid-August after going through state inspection last week.