Who We Are


The Miss Chicago Competition is the oldest pageant in Illinois, and began in 1922. Miss Chicago has always been a part of the Miss America Organization originally as a direct to Miss America competition. In 1967, the winner of Miss Chicago began to compete as a local preliminary title under the Miss Illinois Scholarship Organization.

Today, the Miss Chicago Scholarship Organization holds an annual competition to crown Miss Chicago. We also crown sister queens to go to Miss Illinois including - Miss Windy City, Miss Gold Coast, and Miss Cook County.

The Chicago titleholders then compete in the state competition in Marion for the title of Miss Illinois. 
 
To date, we've had 14 Chicago titleholders win Miss Illinois, and 1 Miss America winner. 

In 2005, Illinois began sending a titleholder to the Miss America's Teen competition (Formerly known as Miss America's Outstanding Teen). Each year, we crown a Miss Chicago's Teen, and occasionally a Miss Windy City's Teen and Miss Gold Coast's Teen, depending on participation.
 
Chicago has won 7 out of the past 9 Miss Illinois' Teen titles (past 5 in a row). 

The Miss Chicago Organization made Illinois history in 2020 as the first local preliminary to crown a Black Miss Chicago (Monica Nia Jones) and Black Miss Chicago's Teen (Eden Wilson) in the same year. Additionally, Miss Chicago's Teen 2019, Imani Muse, became the first Black Miss Illinois' Teen ever, leading the way for others to follow in her legacy. 



Our Scholarships and Organization


The Miss Chicago Scholarship Organization provides a scholarship to all of our titleholders. We are able to accomplish this through the generosity of our sponsors and donors. 

Everyone involved in the organization is a volunteer:
the Executive Directors, the scholarship board, the competition staff, the judges, the auditors, and the state prep team. 
These volunteers are the heartbeat of any local competition, and they keep everything running smoothly.



The Sisterhood


More than anything, the Miss Chicago Organization is a family. Our former titleholders and families band together with our new ones. We work together to make sure every candidate for Miss Chicago has a great time and every titleholder is supported in their journey to Miss Illinois and beyond. From beginning steps, to the Miss Illinois stage, we are happy to take care of our family!



Let the Journey Begin!