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Today, the Illinois state tournament is a five-team, double-elimination event. The tourney brings together three Chicago-area sectional champions, as well as teams from downstate Illinois and an area that stretches from the Quad Cities to East Central Illinois. The tournament has changed formats twice over time. It began as a single-elimination, four-team competition, converted to a double-elimination format, and then expanded to a five-team event.
The Illinois state champions advance to the Great Lakes Region tournament in Indianapolis, Indiana. The winner of this tournament qualifies for the Little League World Series.
Thirteen Illinois teams have participated in the Little League World Series, including nine since 1957. No Illinois team has ever won the Little League World Series.
CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY
| YEAR | MILESTONE |
| 1957 | The Illinois state tournament is inaugurated as a four-team, single-elimination tournament. The state is organized into fourteen districts numbered 1 through 14 from the bottom of the state to the top. |
| 1958 | District 15 is formed near Midway Airport, and District 16 (Lake County and Chicago's North Suburbs) is spun off from District 14. |
| 1964 | Three new districts are formed. District 17 (West Central Illinois) is spun off from District 3, District 18 (Kankakee area) is spun off from District 4, and District 19 (Northwestern Illinois) is spun off from District 5. |
| 1973 | District 4 (Ottawa/LaSalle area) is folded into District 5. |
| 1974 | District 4 is re-formed within the Chicago city limits. |
| 1981 | The state tournament switches to a double-elimination format. |
| 1985 | District 20 is formed in the Ottawa/LaSalle area as a spin-off from District 5 (Quad Cities area). The creation of this district leads to changes in Illinois' sectional and state tournament structure, as Illinois officials create a fifth section and expand the state tournament to a five-team event. District 18 joined three of the districts from Section 1 in the new Section 5, and District 15 (Midway Airport area) moved from Section 3 to Section 2. |
| 1987 | District 14 is dissolved, and its leagues are folded into District 12. |
| 1995 | The state's sectional structure is shuffled slightly when District 18 moves back into Section 2. District 10 (Western Chicago suburbs -- Melrose Park/River Forest area) moves from Section 2 to Section 4, and Section 5 is left as a three-district section. |
| 1999 | District 12 is dissolved, and its leagues are folded into District 10. |
| 2000 | District 18 moves back to Section 5. |
| 2001 | Illinois is assigned to the Great Lakes Region as part of Little League Baseball's expansion of the World Series from eight to sixteen participants. |
DISTRICT 6 CHAMPIONS
Teams listed in bold also won an Illinois State Tournament.
click on YEAR for DETAIL
2005 - Lansing East
2004 - Bradley-Bourbannis
2003 - South Holland
2002 - Dolton-Riverdale
2001 - Lansing East
2000 - Lynwood
1999 - Lansing East
1998 - Lansing East
1997 - Lansing West
1996 - Lansing East
1995 - Lansing West
1994 - South Holland South
1993 - Stegar
1992 - South Holland South
1991 - South Holland South
1990 - South Holland South
1989 - South Holland North
1988 - South Holland South
1987 - Lansing East
1986 - Harvey National
1985 - South Holland North
1984 - South Holland North
1983 - South Holland North
1982 - South Holland North
1981 - Homewood
1980 - Calumet City American
1979 - Dolton-Riverdale American
1978 - Lansing West
1977 - Lansing West
1976 - Markham Manor
1975 - Calumet City National
1974 - Dolton-Riverdale American
1973 - Lansing East
1972 - Harvey American
1971 - South Holland American
1970 - Calumet City National
1969 - Harvey American
1968 - Calumet Park
1967 -
1966 - Tinley Park
1965 - Harvey American
1964 - Dolton-Riverdale
1963 - Harvey American
1962 - Midlothian
1961 - Markham
1960 - Harvey National
1959 - Lansing East
1958 - Lansing
1957 - Harvey American