I have thoroughly enjoyed my stay at Boys State. Coming into this, I didn't really know what to expect. I imagined it to be boring. I have made a lot of new friends and everyday is a new experience.
There are so many things you can do: play sports, run for an office or work with other counties on the newspaper everyone receives everyday, to name a few. My abilities of leadership and friendship has increased significantly from the things I've seen and heard here at Premier Boys State.

Tyler Holland – 2005 Citizen
McLean, IL
Olympia High School

American Legion Boys State is among the most respected and selective educational programs of government instruction for high school students.  It is a participatory program where each participant becomes a part of the operation of his local, county, and state government. Boys State has been a program of The American Legion since 1935.  The program was the idea of three Illinois Legionnaires who organized the first Boys State at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.  There are now Boys States and Girls States across the nation.

At Boys State, participants are exposed to the rights and privileges, the duties and the responsibilities of a franchised citizen.  the training is objective and practical with city, county, and state governments operated by the students elected to the various offices.  Activities include legislative sessions, court proceedings, law enforcement presentations, assemblies, and seminars. Delegates to Boys State debate a civic affairs topic, chosen for each year's session and adopt policy recommendations which are forwarded to the governor of Illinois and to the leaders of the Illinois General Assembly

From among the 1.5 million high school students in Illinois, 500 of them representt their high school and their communities as delegates to Illinois boys State.  Each Boys State delegate will be assigned arbitrarily to one of 24 cities in eight counties.  Each citizen will also be given a party designation - Nationalist or Federalist.

Nine $1000 scholarships are awarded each year to exemplary citizens during the Boys State session. Colleges and universities are well aware of the nationwide Boys State program, and actively recruit Boys State participants during their senior year of high school. Known as "the week that shapes a lifetime", participants get a true understanding of how government operates, what our obligation is to our government, and what politics is all about. Instead of a classroom, they will experience for themselves, many for the first time, city, county and state government....as well as the process by which government officers are elected.