Miss Heart of Illinois

Miss Heart of Illinois Miss Heart of Illinois 2026, Payton Scace

Official Preliminary to Miss Illinois

A huge shout out to Tequila’s for such a phenomenal dinner before we attended our teen finals tonight!
06/13/2026

A huge shout out to Tequila’s for such a phenomenal dinner before we attended our teen finals tonight!

I had an absolute blast with Lia at the Miss Illinois Jewels Luncheon! However, I also shed some tears. Lia is genuinely...
06/12/2026

I had an absolute blast with Lia at the Miss Illinois Jewels Luncheon!

However, I also shed some tears. Lia is genuinely one of the most beautiful souls I have met through the Miss Illinois Organization.

Today, she packed me the world’s heaviest gift bag of goodies (both for Miss Illinois and my birthday that’s coming up later this month!) But what hit me the hardest was the handwritten card that she put inside of it that told me how much I’ve impacted her during our time together over the past two years. I truly am blessed to have gotten such an amazing young woman as my jewel 💎

Let’s talk about fitness 💪🏻I will be the first person to tell you that fitness has been my least favorite portion over m...
06/12/2026

Let’s talk about fitness 💪🏻

I will be the first person to tell you that fitness has been my least favorite portion over my past few years of competing in the Miss America Opportunity. Everyone has to have one!

For me, it stemmed from how much insecurity I had about my body. For years I have struggled with body image issues, but I have also realized that as women we put so much pressure on ourselves to fit into this ideal that media often sets for us.

It took me a long time, and a lot of growth to understand that being Miss America Fit isn’t about having the perfect body, but about taking care of your health, both mentally and physically, listening to your body’s needs, and giving back to it as much as it gives to you. Truthfully, once you change your mindset it makes it infinitely easier to feel confident in yourself and in your own skin!

So to all of my fellow people who have ever struggled with their body, just know that I see you, and that accepting yourself for who you are is okay ❤️

Let’s hear it for the gown! 💚I will be the first to tell you that when I walked into Cheri’s this is not even remotely c...
06/12/2026

Let’s hear it for the gown! 💚

I will be the first to tell you that when I walked into Cheri’s this is not even remotely close to what I had imagined for my Miss Illinois gown this year. While I’ve never been one to feel my most confident in a fully bedazzled dress, I also have struggled with my self image, like many women in my very same shoes have. So being in a form fitting dress, with a slit, was the last thing on my mind. Especially after the insecurity I had felt within myself with previous evening gowns.

However, the second I put this dress on in Simply Elegant - both my mom and I knew that we had found the ONE. I had never felt more confident in a gown in my entire life, despite it being everything I had planned to avoid. I felt like I truly shined on that stage tonight, and could not be happier to reflect that growth and confidence through my style.

I cannot even begin to explain how excited I am to spend time with my Miss Illinois Jewel Lia 💎Lia was also my Miss Illi...
06/12/2026

I cannot even begin to explain how excited I am to spend time with my Miss Illinois Jewel Lia 💎

Lia was also my Miss Illinois Jewel last year, and I cannot even begin to explain how amazing it is to see how much she has grown in the past year. Both as a young woman and literally - she might be taller than me if I take my heels off. She has accomplished so much over the past year and I just know we are going to have an absolute blast over the next couple of days.

As much as I know Lia looks up to me, I also look up to her. There are so many things that we can learn from those younger than us, which is something I have grown to appreciate during my student observations. She has taught me so many things about self confidence and expression, let alone how caring she is.

So here’s to the start of an amazing long weekend together 👑

06/12/2026

I am so grateful for the bond I have grown with McKenna Vereeke over the past three years in the Miss Illinois Organization, she truly is the sister I always wanted growing up

Thank you so much to KB’s BBQ for providing our lunch today! When I tell you guys this may have been some of the best br...
06/12/2026

Thank you so much to KB’s BBQ for providing our lunch today! When I tell you guys this may have been some of the best brisket I’ve ever had in my life, I’m not even kidding! This girl was FULL

Just got my interview photos back, so this is the perfect opportunity to talk about how interview is my absolute favorit...
06/11/2026

Just got my interview photos back, so this is the perfect opportunity to talk about how interview is my absolute favorite phase of competition!

It is so amazing to get the opportunity to speak to the judges about my CSI and its impact, as well as letting to get to know me as a person. I feel like I truly get to shine when I get those 10 minutes with the judges 🤍

Let’s talk about talent 🎤I have been performing solos on stage since I was seven years old, and while it is something th...
06/11/2026

Let’s talk about talent 🎤

I have been performing solos on stage since I was seven years old, and while it is something that I love to do, it can also be nerve wracking.

Last night I was able to perform one of my all time favorite musical songs, Don’t Rain on My Parade. It’s a song that really just brings me so much joy, and for the first time I came off stage and was proud of myself for putting it all out there. Oftentimes we are our harshest critics, but it’s important to remember to take a step back and reflect on how amazing it is to experience something like this in the moment 💙

Of course I have to give a huge shout out to Matty for capturing the moment.

06/11/2026

A huge thank you to Simply Elegant by Cheri for providing us all with these amazing gift bags! We cannot thank you enough for all of the work you put in to make sure that we look and feel amazing during our Miss Illinois week. You truly are one of the kindest and most thoughtful women I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. I cannot wait to show off my evening gown 🫶🏻

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Lena, IL
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