A commission tasked with overseeing a process that could lead to a new Illinois state flag has selected 10 finalists for the public to consider early next year.
The 20-member Illinois Flag Commission, which includes some elected officials, chose the finalists from nearly 5,000 submissions that came in since the Illinois secretary of state’s office opened the selection process in early September. The designs incorporate iterations of various state icons, including the state insect (the Monarch butterfly), the state flower (violet) and Abraham Lincoln, as well as nods to corn, agriculture and industry.
Beginning in January, the public will be able to vote online at www.ilsos.gov/stateflag for one of the new designs, or for one of three flags that have already flown over the Land of Lincoln: the current state flag, the 1918 Centennial Flag and the 1968 Sesquicentennial Flag.
By April 1, after the public vote has been tallied, the commission will offer recommendations and share its findings with the Illinois General Assembly, which will then decide on whether to adopt a new flag.
The state flag now features a bald eagle with the state motto in its mouth standing on a rock bearing the year of the state’s incorporation, 1818, and the seal’s creation, 1868. It’s almost a carbon copy of the state seal.
Through legislation sponsored by state Rep. Kam Buckner of Chicago and state Sen. Doris Turner of Springfield, the Illinois Flag Commission was created to determine whether a new state flag “would better represent the state’s diversity of urban, suburban and rural communities and inspire renewed state pride among Illinoisians,” according to a statement from the secretary of state’s office. Gov. JB Pritzker signed the measure into law last year.
Designers for a new flag were asked to incorporate elements such as Illinois’ natural features or anything that represents the state’s history and culture. There was no limit on flag shape, but the commission was allowed to edit the designs. There was also no limit on colors but less than three colors were recommended for clarity of design. Designs were not allowed to be generated by artificial intelligence.
The flag designs eligible for public voting in January can be viewed at ilsos.gov/special/IFC/10finalists.pdf.
Minnesota adopted a new state flag earlier this year after a similar process, ending up with a banner that has an eight-pointed star enclosed in a dark blue shape that represents the state’s general outline and the night sky on the left, and a light-blue field on the right representing the state’s many bodies of water. Last year, Utah also underwent the process of getting a new state flag, which was changed to pay homage to its nickname, “The Beehive State.”
Locally, Cook County changed its flag in 2022, adopting a design created by a student from Glenbrook South High School in north suburban Glenview.
