SPRINGFIELD - Tuesday, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner set a record when he bid $61,000 for a championship steer at the State Fair during the annual Sale of Champions. Chicago Tribune's Monique Garcia reports:
Standing behind the auction pen as championship rabbits, chickens and goats came and went, Rauner made his move when Scotty, a Land of Lincoln grand champion steer, went up on the block. The governor, however, had a celebrity proxy do his bidding — Scotty McCreery, the Season 10 winner of "American Idol" and the steer's namesake. The country singer was opening for Rascal Flatts, the evening's grandstand concert headliner.
As the rapid-fire bidding slowed down, the auctioneer turned to Taylor Donelson, a McLean County girl who raised Scotty, and suggested she should ask the deep-pocketed governor if he could please bid $61,000. The teen turned to Rauner and made the request. The crowd roared, and Rauner threw up his arms in mock protest before giving a thumbs up. The bid set a new record.
The steer will be slaughtered, as is state fair custom, and the governor plans to give the meat to the University of Illinois. Auction proceeds are split among the young exhibitors and the Future Farmers of America and the 4-H youth organization.
The rest of the Tribune's story is HERE.
(WSIU Radio photo)