Recently, the Constitutional Democracy Project announced that Maine South High School will be representing Illinois at the We the People National Finals being held in Bethesda, Maryland from April 9 to 11, 2026. 
In early January, Maine South’s Constitution team (C-team) won the state title after competing in simulated congressional hearings as part of the We the People national program, which promotes civic competence and responsibility among youth. Students testified as constitutional experts in front of a panel of judges acting as congressional committees. The judges asked the students questions to assess their knowledge of constitutional principles and their ability to apply these principles to historical and current issues.
“The Constitution Team is a co-curricular, so all participating students are seniors who are also enrolled in the We the People: American Government class,” explained Maine South Social Science Teacher and Head Coach, Leah Politi. “The students prepare three to four-minute opening statements in response to questions that the Center for Civic Education writes, and they deliver those statements in front of a panel of judges.”
The We the People program is a project of the Center for Civic Education and is administered in Illinois by the Constitutional Democracy Project (CDP) at Chicago-Kent College of Law. The CDP offers high-quality, hands-on civics education programs and teaching materials focused on the Constitution, law and policy for middle school and high school students and their teachers.
“I am so proud that Illinois will have two We the People schools competing at the national finals,” says Dee Runaas, project director for the CDP. Another school in the state finished second and qualified as the runner-up.