By JOHN O’CONNOR
Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Country rock band Confederate Railroad has been barred from performing at an Illinois state fair because of its use of the Confederate flag, setting off a firestorm by southern Illinois fans who believe they’re under Chicago liberals’ thumb of political correctness.

The band was scheduled to appear Aug. 27 at the DuQuoin State Fair , but Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration canceled the appearance last week.

“This administration’s guiding principle is that the state of Illinois will not use state resources to promote symbols of racism,” Pritzker spokeswoman Emily Bittner said. “Symbols of hate cannot and will not represent the values of the Land of Lincoln.”

The logo for the Grammy-nominated band, known for acoustic ballads such as “Jesus and Mama” as well as its raucous anthem, “Trashy Women,” features a steam engine from which waves dual Confederate Navy Jacks, whose stars and bars are the most widely recognized symbol of the Confederacy.

The banner has been attacked in recent years as a racist emblem of slavery and segregation. Supporters say it represents history and southern heritage.

The flare-up in DuQuoin, 87 miles (140 kilometers) southeast of St. Louis, rekindles a centuries-old rift in Illinois, whose southern tip reaches far into the confines of the old Confederacy and is home to a more traditional and conservative culture than that represented by Chicago Democrat Pritzker. Routinely, the region spawns legislation to make Chicago a separate state.

Joe McKinney, who has contacted Confederate Railroad about performing at his family’s banquet facility in DeSoto because of the group’s popularity, said the band has never used the flag to fan racial strife. “It’s just their logo. It’s just their southern pride,” McKinney said. But McKinney’s attempt to land the band goes beyond symbolism.

“In the southern part of this state, we suffer from a lot of decisions made from Chicago …,” McKinney said. “In addition to trying to bring the people what they want, we’re also trying to prove a point to northern Illinois: You don’t own everything.”

Confederate Railroad frontman Danny Shirley said in a statement Tuesday that the news “was very disappointing as we have played this fair before and enjoyed it.” He thanked supportive fans but dissuaded them from asking Restless Heart and Shenandoah, who are still scheduled for Aug. 27, to be no-shows.

Shenandoah released a statement saying it would appear, but added, “This ‘political correctness’ has to stop. It’s tearing our country apart.”

Rep. Terri Bryant, a Republican from Murphysboro, said a Facebook campaign to boycott the fair is ill-advised. A private festival for 70 years before the state purchased it in 1985, the DuQuoin fair is struggling to recover — as is the larger state fair in Springfield earlier in August — from a two-year budget stalemate, and a boycott of DuQuoin would hinder nonprofits who have substantial fundraisers there, Bryant said.

Bryant met with top Pritzker aides Monday in Chicago about the issue. Among other things, she pointed out that Snoop Dogg, who’s appearing at the state fair in Springfield, is promoting his latest album, “Make America Crip Again,” whose cover features the rapper standing over a corpse toe-tagged with Republican President Donald Trump’s name.

Bryant said she doesn’t support the Confederate flag, but is trying to limit government censorship.

“If you’re going to censor Confederate Railroad because it’s offensive to people, then censor the other entertainer with the depiction of a dead president that many people here love.”

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago police investigators have cracked the case: A 4-5 foot alligator is living in a lagoon at one of the city’s most popular parks.

Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says Tuesday that investigators went to Humboldt Park Lagoon on the city’s West Side and confirmed that the unusual resident is there as reported on social media.

Officials couldn’t say how the creature got there.

City officials say alligator traps are being placed around the lagoon in hopes the animal will swim into one and be safely removed.

Guglielmi says the animal was expected to be trapped “and relocated to a zoo for veterinary evaluation.”

Alligators favor warm weather climates such as Florida but have been known to survive temporarily in the cold through a process similar to hibernation.

WEST MILFORD, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey man is promising to give his neighbor’s dog a steak for chasing a black bear from his backyard.

Mark Stinziano tells WABC-TV his home security camera captured what happened Tuesday night when the bruin decided to snack on the bird feeder behind his West Milford home.

The video shows the bear pulling down the bird feeder when the neighbor’s dog, Riley, races into the yard. Riley slammed into the startled bear, which scrambled to escape.

Riley’s owner, Alan Tlusty, says his dog always chases the bear whenever he sees him in the yard.

Stinziano says Riley also checks on his children when they’re in the pool.

NEW YORK (AP) — In her first public appearance since discovering her masters were in the hands of someone she’s not a fan of, Taylor Swift didn’t directly address the issue, but she did play music from that rich catalog, including songs from her groundbreaking sophomore album to her first full-blown pop project to her latest title.

There was one moment, though, where Swift may have called out Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta on Wednesday night when she headlined Amazon Music’s Prime Day Concert in New York City. When singing her final song, the upbeat hit “Shake It Off,” she was extra loud as she uttered the words: “Liars and the dirty, dirty cheats of the world.”

Some viewers on social media felt like Swift was throwing shade, but the pop star seemed to shake off the drama with a fun, entertaining performance that came two weeks after she wrote that she was sad and grossed out that her music catalog now belongs to Braun, who she accuses of subjecting her to years of incessant and manipulative bullying.

Swift’s die-hard fans were as loud as ever Wednesday, erupting before she hit the stage at the Hammerstein Ballroom, chanting her name minutes before opened her set with a colorful performance of the song “ME!”

She sang tunes from all of her albums except her 2006 self-titled debut. She strummed her guitar while she sang “Delicate” from “reputation” and “Welcome to New York” from “1989,” which won the Grammy for album of the year. She reminded the audience she was a former country singer before performing “Love Story” from “Fearless,” which also won the top Grammy prize. And she whipped her head back and forth as she belted “I Knew You Were Trouble” from her “Red” album.

Swift sang her “You Need to Calm Down” live for the first time at the event, which also featured performances by singers SZA, Dua Lipa and Becky G. On the song Swift addresses her own haters but also calls out those who attack the LGBTQ community. It will appear on her new album, “Lover,” to be released Aug. 23.

“It’s really, sort of, a love letter to love itself. And I think that love is such an inspiring thing to write about,” she said of the upcoming album. “Love is complexity. Love is struggle. Love is pain. Love is joy. Love is hope. Love is equality.”

Emmy-winning actress Jane Lynch hosted the event, which featured clips of Amazon Prime programming between performances, from “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” to “Jack Ryan.”