Miss Illinois 2012

Miss Illinois 2012, Megan Ervin

A dream came true Saturday night for Rushville resident Megan Ervin, who was crowned Miss Illinois in her second straight try at the pageant title.   The 22-year-old daughter of Jeff and Cindy Ervin of Rushville, defeated 24 other contestants from across the state in this week’s pageant at the Marion Cultural and Civic Center.  She now advances to the Miss America Pageant in January in Las Vegas.  Ervin, who was first runner-up in the 2011 Miss Illinois pageant, qualified for the 2012 contest by winning the Miss Quincy Scholarship Pageant in March. Celeste Niemann of Quincy also qualified for the Miss Illinois pageant by winning the Miss Gem City title in the same March pageant. Both women took part in the weeklong festivities this week in Marion, culminating with Saturday’s final competition.