SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Gov. Bruce Rauner and first lady Diana Rauner have contributed $1 million to the Illinois State Fair to help rebuild and rename the 117-year-old Coliseum .
The Republican governor announced Tuesday the Rauner Family Foundation purchased naming rights so that Illinois schoolchildren could give the fairgrounds’ centerpiece a moniker for future generations.
Rauner says that “Diana and I want to make this `The Peoples’ Coliseum’ just as we made the Governor’s Mansion `The Peoples’ House.”‘ The Rauners contributed at least $1 million to renovate the 1855 executive mansion that reopened last month. Diana Rauner spearheaded a $15 million fundraising effort for that work.
The Coliseum has been closed since the 2016 state fair. Inspectors found deteriorating conditions made it unsafe. It will cost about $7.5 million to restore.
