A crowd of more than 1,000 people packed the Orr Building in August on Ag Day at the Illinois State Fairgrounds to celebrate Illinois' number one industry. The morning started off with a breakfast, featuring the dedication of the Illinois Department of Agriculture administration building as the John R. Block Building. Illinois HB 5540, sponsored by State Senator Darin LaHood and State Representative Don Moffitt, named the administration building after John Rusling Block, the only Illinois agriculture director to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. John Block said he was both “excited and humbled” that the Illinois Department of Agriculture building now bears his name. He said this would never have been possible without past Illinois Governor James R. Thompson naming him Illinois Director of Agriculture, which preceded his being appointed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture by President Ronald Reagan. Secretary Block actively participates in NAFB as an allied industry member and was awarded the Dix Harper Meritorious Service Award in 2000.
