Illinois

The flag of the American state of Illinois consists of a white background, with a stylized version of the image of the state seal in the center of the flag, with a blue "ILLINOIS" at the bottom of the flag below the image. It also shows "1868" and "1818" on the rock in black, and a ribbon that the eagle is biting which says, "STATE," "SOVEREIGNTY," "NATIONAL," and "UNION".

Design story[]

Governor Richard Ogilvie, who proposed a new design should be adopted.

In 1969, Illinois Governor Richard Buell Ogilvie appointed a committee of historians to design a new state flag. Mrs. Sanford Hutchinson designed the current flag with the word "ILLINOIS" below the emblem as an addition to Lucy Derwent's original design. The new design was adopted in 1970.

Symbolism[]

The state seal of Illinois and the word "ILLINOIS" both represent Illinois. The white background has no symbolism.

History[]

Flag redesign[]

On August 28, 2024, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced that the Illinois Flag Commission announced that they will accept submissions for a new state flag design by September. This commission was created last year after the 1818 Senate Bill was signed into law, which is to develop a new state flag. This commission will accept design ideas through public by October 18, 2024, and 10 designs will be selected, with voting starting at the beginning of 2025.^[2]

By October 29, 2024, 4,844 flag design entries were received.^[3]

On December 10, 2024, the flags of the ten shortlisted designs were revealed.^[4]

Voting opened on January 10, 2025, and closed on February 14, 2025.^[5] However, the current flag received 165,602 votes out of 383,861 votes cast in total, with Design 2246 placing second with only 32,898 votes.^[6]

Finalist Flags[]

Shortlisted Designs[]

Historical[]

Nickname[]

The Illinois Eagle

References[]

[1] Illinois State Flag at NETSTATE.COM

[2] Illinois opens contest to redesign state flag on WGN-TV

[3] Illinois flag redesign contest receives nearly 5K entries, begins next steps on WIFR

[4] TOP 10 FINALISTS - New State Flag Design Contest by the Illinois Flag Commission

[5] Voting for the Illinois State Flag Redesign Contest by the Illinois Flag Commission

[6] Flag waiver? Illinois residents overwhelming reject idea of redesigning state flag by the Chicago Sun-Times

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