State-funded America 250 commemorations kept mellow as federal funding cuts still sting in Illinois
Community News
By Olivia Olander
July 13, 2026
This feature was originally published on July 12, 2026, by The Chicago Tribune.
By almost any measure — but especially compared with President Donald Trump’s campaign-style National Mall speech and Washington’s massive fireworks show over the Independence Day holiday — Illinois’ celebrations to commemorate the United States’ 250th birthday this year have been decidedly low-key.
Gov. JB Pritzker’s office listed about $376,000 in costs for semiquincentennial-specific state programming, a relatively low price amid federal funding cuts and a striking contrast to the all-out, politically charged events in the nation's capital.
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