Makeover Didn’t Take : Mrs. Illinois Has a Word for Pageant--a Four-Letter Word

Renee Johnson said good riddance today to her reign as Mrs. Illinois. She said pageant officials wanted to make her up like a hooker. They claim they tried but failed to make her a lady.

“I told my husband that if I ever mention entering a beauty contest again, that he should give me a good shake,” said the 25-year-old Rockford woman.

Johnson was barred from the weekend ceremonies that crowned her successor, Barbara Trobar.

Pageant Director Marcie Aceto said Johnson violated terms of her contract.

“I don’t think she went on all of her appearances, but I really couldn’t tell you all of them,” Aceto said. “I can’t remember them. I do know that I tried to make this woman a lady, and she couldn’t even say thank you for what we turned her into.”

Aceto said Johnson “likes to use four-letter words and doesn’t embody what I think a Mrs. Illinois should be.”

Johnson admitted she used “some foul words,” but denied any contract violations. She said pageant officials tried to make her over.

“I am a housewife,” she said. “I didn’t want blond streaks painted in my hair . . . They wanted me to dress in glitter clothes, and I wanted to be myself . . . I didn’t want to end up looking like a hooker.”