Flag redesign voters say stick with ‘seal on a bedsheet’
An overwhelming majority of voters of an online poll chose maintaining the current flag of Illinois rather than picking any of the 10 new options or one of two alternate state flag designs used in the past.
Of the nearly 385,000 votes cast, 165,602 were for keeping the current flag design. That’s 43% of the total vote, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias noted.
“Some may call it an SOB — a seal on a bedsheet — and the (vexillologic) community may hate it, but people overwhelmingly prefer our current state flag,” Giannoulias said.
The current flag design has been derided by critics because of its “busyness.”
The current design features a bald eagle atop a rock labeled with two years on it. The eagle is holding a red ribbon in its mouth with the words “State Sovereignty, National Union” emblazoned on it. Next to the rock is red, white and blue shield, which is resting on an olive branch. There’s also a field of grass, a waterway of some sort and a rising sun in the background. At the bottom of the flag is the word, “ILLINOIS.”
Giannoulias’ office oversees the 21-member Illinois Flag Commission that was impaneled in 2023 to determine if a new flag design was necessary, or wanted, in an effort to better market the state.
The commission whittled down thousands of redesign submissions to 10 options for voters. The commission also gave voters the option to choose flags designed for the state’s centennial and sesquicentennial.
The runner-up received 32,898 votes. It was a new design from a downstate native that features 21 overlapping green and white stripes with a gold sun rising from the stripes and topped by three white six-pointed stars in a blue sky.
The flag designed for the state’s sesquicentennial — it’s 150th birthday — received the fewest votes with just 5,096.
Giannoulias said the flag commission will present the state legislature with a report “detailing its findings” by April 1.
Lawmakers then have the option to keep the current flag design, return to a previous iteration or pick a new design all together.