Pritzker defends decision to cancel Confederate Railroad performance [View all]

Gov. J.B. Pritzker defended the state’s decision to cancel a performance by the band Confederate Railroad at the Du Quoin State Fair, and said it is a different set of circumstances from Snoop Dogg appearing at the Illinois State Fair.

During a press availability in Chicago, Pritzker said Confederate Railroad’s use of the Confederate flag in its logo makes it an inappropriate choice to perform at the Du Quoin State Fair.

“The Confederate flag is a symbol of not just slavery, but of treason against the United States,” Pritzker said. “It is also a symbol of murder, of kidnapping, of rape. That’s what happened under the banner of the Confederate flag many years ago in this country.

“It is today a symbol of racists, of white nationalists, of the alt-right,” Pritzker continued. “I cannot think that the state of Illinois should be sponsoring something that is amplifying that symbol. That is why we took the action we did.”

Read more: https://www.sj-r.com/news/20190710/pritzker-defends-decision-to-cancel-confederate-railroad-performance
(Springfield State Journal Register)