Back -to Back: SIC’s MIG Team Weathers Storm, Captures 14th State Title
Instead of going South and catching some rays, students at Southeastern Illinois College once again headed North, dodged snowflakes, and spent their spring break writing and debating legislation at the Capital in Springfield at the Model Illinois Government (MIG) simulation.
MIG is a legislative competition with students playing roles of legislator, lobbyist, journalist, attorney, judge, and party positions of leadership. This year students from 15 colleges and universities participated.
The trip ended in familiar territory when SIC was named “Outstanding Small Delegation”—capping off its 14th championship in school history and its first back-to-back titles since 2017.
While the results were familiar, the journey was not. After starting the year with eleven competitors, the team dwindled to just four members before the competition.
As a result, Southeastern was not only the smallest school in terms of enrollment, it also had the smallest number of competitors at the competition.
“In fact, this was the smallest delegation in the school’s 23-year history.” said professor and MIG Advisor Matt Lees. “We were competing with teams with almost twice as many students. With such small numbers, we needed each and every delegate to contribute.”
Unfortunately, the team shrunk even further when first year delegate Brandi Whitt became ill with food poisoning and had to leave the competition.
“Brandi had just been elected leader of her caucus and had also written a compelling piece of Original Legislation. She was at the very center of everything we hoped to accomplish which made her loss especially difficult.”
After Whitt was forced to leave, team captain/head delegate Tobias Hamblin, told Lees, “We are not conceding anything. We refuse to lose.”
Hamblin was true to his word, guiding Whitt’s legislation through both the House and Senate chambers, and finally all the way to the Governor’s desk where it was signed into law.
“Tobias knew how hard he and Brandi had worked on her bill,” said Lees. “He was determined that all of her efforts were not in vain.”
Whitt’s bill was later named, Outstanding Original Legislation. Hamblin appropriately accepted the award on Whitt’s behalf at the awards ceremony.
Whitt described the honor as, “…a moment of absolute exhilaration.”
Hamblin of Norris City and Whitt of Harrisburg were also joined by another first-year delegate, Ben Gulley of Harrisburg, and senior delegate Jillian Womack of Eldorado.
Both Gulley and Womack were elected to leadership roles. Gulley was elected Senate Majority Leader while Womack served as Attorney General.
Gulley was later named Outstanding Member of the Senate, becoming only the second freshman delegate in 23 years to win that award. Ironically, senior delegate Womack was the first.
“Ben threw himself into this role,” said Lees. “He would skip lunch in order to prepare his arguments.”
Womack also worked extensively with Gulley while performing her duties as Attorney General which included publishing the MIG Newspaper, The MIG Journal.
“Every year, I am reminded how much this organization means to me,” said Womack.
Two SIC alumni also played central roles at the simulation. Alex O’Daniel (Carmi) served as Chief Justice and ran the moot court competition, while another SIC graduate, Dana Hooven of Harrisburg, served as Secretariat, a position reserved for top alumni of the organization.
“This year was incredible on so many levels,” said SIC advisor Matt Lees. “This group overcame so much. To win the competition under these circumstances is a tribute to the resiliency of our students.”
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