On May 22, 2007, thirteen classes from Illinois elementary and middle schools competed in the 2007 Illinois Project Citizen portfolio showcase and competition. Students from Decatur Classical, Talcott Fine Arts and Museum Academy, Keller Regional Gifted, Pershing West and St. Hyacinth School in Chicago, Elm Place Middle School in Highland Park, Otter Creek Elementary in Elgin, Immaculate Conception School in Columbia, Coulterville Elementary School in Coulterville, St. Andrew School in Murphysboro, Stanton School in Fox Lake and, and Wauconda Middle School in Wauconda sent portfolios chronicling the steps and future plans for their service projects to the Capitol Building in Springfield where the judging took place.

Showcase Judge Sally Veach from the ISBE evaluates the Talcott Elementary project.		The Illinois winning portfolio from Immaculate Conception School in Columbia.

Cosponsored and hosted by Secretary of State Jesse White’s Office and cosponsored by Governor Blagojevich’s Office, the Illinois State Bar Association, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s Office, the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Lt. Governor’s Office and CRFC, the 2007 Illinois Project Citizen Competition featured student-created portfolios that described each project’s goals, processes and outcomes. In determining a winner, judges considered the extent of each project’s research, the significance of the issues, the students’ understanding of the problem, and the overall persuasiveness and feasibility of their action plan.

This year’s project judges were Dave Joens, Sissy Brown and Micah Miller from the Secretary of State White’s Office; Mark Mathewson and Thomas Speedie, Jr. from the Illinois State Bar Association; Katie Stonewater from the Lt. Governor’s Office; Rich Dehart and Jo Ann Price and Sally Veach from the Illinois State Board of Education; Sarah Kerley from the Office of the Illinois Attorney General; and Jordan Garrison from the Governor’s Office.

A fifth grade class from Immaculate Conception Elementary School in Columbia took first place at the competition and will represent Illinois in the national Project Citizen portfolio competition in Boston, Massachusetts in August of 2007. To learn more about the winning project from Immaculate Conception and to see the portfolio they created, click onto Illinois Winning Project 2006-07.

The National Competition is coordinated by the Center for Civic Education and held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the program's national co-sponsor, the National Conference of State Legislatures .

Last updated: July 31, 2006

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