Pageant News Bureau - Miss Illinois

Jade Smalls crowns Jennifer Diane Powers, her successor as Miss Illinois.
Photo courtesy of Daryl Schabinger / Miss Illinois Pageant Board

A state for the nation

Illinois is the North-South state. It starts in the Upper Midwest, then thrusts down through the heart of America, and doesn't stop until it reaches the doorstep of Dixie. People call Illinois the Land of Lincoln, not just because the Great Emancipator began his career there, but also because it's the perfect image of his faith in an indivisible union. If North and South can live together in Illinois, he must have thought, they can live together in America.

"Northerners" and "Southerners" actually do compete in Illinois, but in a friendly way. At the Miss Illinois Pageant, held in Oakbrook Terrace on June 30, 2000, women came from all points of the compass to vie for the state title.

The winner was Miss Northern Illinois, Jennifer Diane Powers, a 20-year-old student with a big voice and a dream of success on Broadway. The first runner-up was a contestant with two geographic identifiers, Miss East Central Illinois, Kathryn Anne Killacky. The second runner-up was Miss Rockford, Nicole Manske. The third runner-up was Miss Western Suburbs, Jessica Jean Sager. The fourth runner-up was Miss Southern Crown, Amanda Reynolds.

Count the directions among the final five: North, South, East, West, Central . . . Rockford. But now, all eyes are looking to the east, where Ms. Powers will compete for the Miss America title in Atlantic City.

If Illinois had given the world nothing but Abraham Lincoln, we would owe the state a debt. But it has given so much more. It has produced four Miss Americas. So far.