Jessica Tilton has been named Miss Illinois 2023.
The 25-year-old won the title Saturday evening at the Marion Cultural and Civic Center following five days of interviews, performances and rehearsals. She competed as Miss Quad Cities and is a native of Washington, Illinois.
Tilton, a faculty member at Bradley University in Peoria, was recently accepted into the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield. She will spend the next year traveling throughout the state to attend special events and promoting her social community initiative of advocating for organ donation. In addition to the title and crown, Tilton wins a minimum $10,000 in scholarships and will represent Illinois at the Miss America competition later this year.
Miss Capital City Breana Bagley of Decatur was named runner-up and Miss Lake County Makalyn Heaslett of Chicago was second runner-up. Other finalists were:
Additional semi-finalists included:
Bethalto: Sydney Daniel, Miss Kankakee
Chicago: Elise O'Connell Miss Chicago
Chicago: Imani P. Muse, Miss Windy City
Frankfort: Megan Magee, Miss Little Egypt
Jeffersonville, Indiana: Madelyn Steurer, Miss Cook County
Mundelein: Sheridan Hurtig, Miss Peoria
Quincy: Jasmine Cobb, Miss Heartland
Richton Park: Nitsaniyah Fitch, Miss Iroquois County
