By WFMB/Illinois Farm Week Now
SPRINGFIELD – Turmoil inside the Illinois Department of Agriculture on Thursday as both the Illinois Department of Agriculture Director and Illinois State Fair Manager turned in letters of resignation, but one of the men out of a job throws some of that into question.
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration said in an email that Director Phillip Nelson and State Fair Manger Patrick Buchen both resigned on Thursday. But in published reports in the Chicago Sun-Times and State Journal Register Buchen said Nelson was fired and he left in solidarity.
The Rauner administration isn’t saying anything more than the email and Phillip Nelson didn’t return a phone call. Nelson was appointed Director of Ag in January and Buchen took over fair a little more than 100 days before the event.
