Rauner dismisses Woodworth as Du Quoin State Fair manager
"John, I'm standing here at the unemployment office in Mount Vernon," said Du Quoin State Fair manager Shannon Woodworth at noon Monday, a sobering political end to a 10-month tour and a $71,000 paycheck.
His dismissal came in a "surprise and impersonal" eMail Friday from Gov. Bruce Rauner's legal counsel, Jason Barclay, himself a recently announced Rauner appointee.
"There was no phone call, no letter, no nothing," said Woodworth, who added he appreciated the Du Quoin Evening Call and the newspaper's fairness in covering his 10-month administration.
"We got a lot done and I had a list of things to do this coming year," said Woodworth.
No other staff changes were announced and the name commonly mentioned as a replacement is Perry County Republic Chairman Bruce Morgenstern, a perennial friend of the fair. There is little substance to that speculation at this writing--no announcements--but when Republican Gov. Jim Edgar won election in 1991 he was quick to name well-placed Franklin County Republican Ron Summers as Du Quoin State Fair manager. Summers served as fair manager during Edgar's eight-year run as governor and later ran a failed race for the 59th district Illinois senate seat against Sen. Gary Forby.
"I had 15 years with the fair," said Woodworth. He said he has no immediate plans. He said the state doesn't pay overtime, but he will be allowed to work through January 31 to cover all aspects of his current employment.
Woodworth was a perennial summer contract employee with the fair, working first under fair manager Sammye Fark during the Gov. George Ryan administration with the media and later corporate sponsor recruitment for the fair and its events.
Woodworth said the eMail asked him to be part of a smooth transition between administrations and he said he would certainly assist in the transition.
The Woodworth dismissal came quickly, only days after the appointment of newly named Illinois Department of Agriculture director Phillip Nelson, president of the Illinois Farm Bureau.
"I may get the prize for the longest Facebook post in history," said Woodworth. It says.
"I've had many occasions to celebrate. But with life, you must take the good with the bad," he wrote. "On Friday night, I received a surprise and impersonal email from Jason Barclay, who describes himself as general counsel for Rauner, telling me that a new manager of the Du Quoin State Fair will be chosen. The governor, nor anyone from his staff, had contacted me to discuss this change or anything concerning the future of the Du Quoin State Fair.
"It must be run by hands who really love the fair and not by those who use political or selfish hands to promote themselves," Woodworth wrote. "The great folks of Southern Illinois, after all, deserve this.
"I'll miss you Du Quoin, but I've shed my final tear already. I'll mostly miss all the people, all the wonderful, honorable people I worked with and for. The memories of you - all of you - will live on forever."
Woodworth succeeded John Rednour Jr. as fair manager after Rednour resigned to become chairman of the Du Quoin State Bank after a warning of possible sanctions was issued by the Illinois Auditor General's office over vendor ethics issues.
In July, Rednour Jr. was fined $5,000 for, according to the decision of the Executive Ethics Commission, intentionally soliciting a gift of free beer tickets from Alongi's, the fair's beer vendor since 2012. He called free beer tickets a longstanding tradition and a matter of "marketing and public relations," not wrongdoing.
Many had hoped that Woodworth would continue his tenure under the Rauner administration and even some Republicans have indicated they felt Woodworth was an independent fair manager who could work for any administration.
Woodworth said he wasn't targeted, but his termination and the appointment of a new manager is simply "politics."
Mayor Rex Duncan commented only that he hopes the position is filled quickly. The mayor was a member of a Woodworth-appointed citizens committee whose work had barely begun.
Mayor Duncan commented, "I always appreciated Shannon's passion for the fair and for the fairgrounds. I know he wanted to increase the number of year-around events at the fairgrounds. I would urge his successor to pursue that goal."
Last spring, Woodworth was placed on leave for a brief period pending an Illinois State Police investigation over a shouting match he had in his office on the telephone with the father of Rednour secretary Angela Wildermuth. There were never any charges filed. Nothing ever happened to Wildermuth's father, a Quinn aide for engaging in the phone threats.
During the year he had landed a new three-year contract for the Street Machine Nationals, had helped ink more than a half-dozen new events for the fair and crated a new connectivity with area towns and their chambers, asking all of Southern Illinois to be a full partner in the future success of the fair.