DECATUR, Ill. – Millikin University students earned top individual honors at the 2026 Model Illinois Government Conference, continuing the University’s tradition of civic engagement and hands-on learning through Performance Learning.
Held annually in Springfield, the conference immerses students in the inner workings of Illinois state government and the legal system. Participants serve in roles such as legislators, committee chairs, attorneys, justices, journalists, and photographers while debating legislation, arguing cases, and navigating the processes that shape public policy and legal proceedings.
On the Model Illinois Government side, Haley Willan earned the David Hunt Award for Outstanding House Committee Chair after serving as chair of the Human Services, Education, and Environment Committee. Millikin student Gavin Estes also served in a leadership role as chair of the Labor and Commerce, Transportation Committee.
Dr. Laura Dean, Associate Professor of Political Science, said the conference offers students a rare opportunity to put classroom learning into practice in an immersive, meaningful setting.
“Model Illinois Government is a Performance Learning-based simulation where students act as real legislators in either the House of Representatives or the Senate and replicate real forms of government,” Dean said. “Students debate bills in committees, then on the House and Senate floors, and they have to use research, parliamentary procedure, and public speaking skills throughout the process.”
Dean said the experience is especially powerful because students are given the chance to speak and lead in the same historic spaces where Illinois government has long been conducted.
“It’s one of the only state-based governance simulations in the United States,” Dean said. “Many students mentioned to me that they couldn’t believe they got to give speeches and have their voices heard on the floor of our governing bodies.”
Willan’s honor stood out in a conference of roughly 200 participants, where individual awards are highly competitive. Dean noted that Willan brought previous Model Illinois Government experience from Lincoln Land Community College and continued that success at Millikin.
In the Moot Court competition, Chase Mason was named runner-up for the Most Outstanding Novice Attorney Award, which recognizes the first-time participant with the highest cumulative score at the competition.
Millikin sent four Moot Court teams to this year’s conference. Millikin Team No. 1 of Maggie Schrage and Chase Mason and Millikin Team No. 4 of Zoe Thorne and Canzie Jackson advanced to the top 14 teams following preliminary rounds. Schrage and Mason then advanced to the top eight, competing against a highly selective field that included five teams from the University of Chicago and two teams from Eastern Illinois University.
Dr. Robert Money, Professor of Philosophy, praised Millikin students for the preparation, focus and professionalism they brought to the three-day competition.
“Our students did excellent work both in preparing for the competition and over the course of the rigorous three-day competition itself,” Money said. “Our students worked hard in advance of and during the competition to construct and deliver sophisticated legal arguments. Their talents were on full display, and they worked continuously over the three days to improve their arguments.”
In addition to the Moot Court teams, Gavin Dobson represented Millikin as a student justice.
Dean said experiences like Model Illinois Government reflect the strength of Millikin’s Performance Learning model, helping students develop confidence, critical thinking and communication skills they can carry into future careers and public service.
“Basically, our entire Model Illinois Government class is debate preparation,” Dean said. “It’s great to see students gain confidence in speaking, increase their knowledge important aspects of the bill, debate them critically, and then use research to support their arguments during the debates.”
Millikin has a longstanding history of success at the conference and traditionally sends about 20 students to participate across Model Illinois Government and Moot Court.
