Illinois health officials cancel trap shooting event that brings in $30 million in tax revenue
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CARBONDALE, Ill. - The decision by Illinois officials to cancel a world sport-shooting championship in southern Illinois because of the coronavirus pandemic has lawmakers from the area upset.
The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan reports that the 121st Grand American World Trapshooting Championships at a state-owned complex near Sparta, scheduled for Aug. 5-15, is canceled.
The event generates about $30 million in sales tax revenue from visitors lodging and eating in the area.
But the state public health director, Dr. Ngoze Ezike, and Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Colleen Callahan concluded they could not prevent transmission of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.