Top 10 finalists for new Illinois flag design revealed

ST. LOUIS -- The Illinois Flag Commission has revealed the Top 10 finalists in its new state flag design competition.

Starting in January, the public can vote on their favorite design through the Illinois Secretary of State's website.

Here's a list of the Top 10 flag designs and the meanings behind their depiction:

Flag Design No. 200

Designer's relationship to Illinois: 18-year-old lifelong resident born in Moline and currently living in Rock Island. Parents are also born and raised Illinoisans.

Meaning behind the flag design: The flag is divided into seven stripes (there's a white stripe on the top and bottom border), in a pattern of white and blue alternating. The biggest blue stripe represents Lake Michigan, while the smaller blue stripes represent the state's various rivers, such as the Mississippi and the Illinois. The center blue stripe contains 20 smaller stars surrounding a center star, representing Illinois as the 21st state. The small white stripes represent the state's industry and commerce, while the bigger white stripes represent the state's agriculture.

Flag Design No. 896

Designer's relationship to Illinois: Designer's wife, Maureen Thomas (1952-2023) was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois.

Meaning behind the flag design: The idea of mine is simply an embellishment to the existing flag (helps save money on an entirely new design). Placing blue and red vertical bars on each end (with a narrow white stripe in between the colors) eliminates the 'seal-on-bedsheet' look. Not overly imaginative, but practical and economical.

Flag Design No. 2246

Designer's relationship to Illinois: The designer says their connection to Illinois runs deep. Their ancestors came from Ireland in the early 1900s and settled in Gridley, IL, where they farmed corn, soybeans and raised livestock. Their father grew up on that same farm, while their mother was raised in Champaign. They met at Illinois State University, where the designer also earned their Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design. The designer said they've lived in Illinois their entire life, and its agricultural landscapes an small-town values make them proud to call Illinois home.

Meaning behind the flag design: The 21 stripes represent Illinois as the 21st state and reflect its agricultural roots, resembling rows of crops and the open prairie. Three six-pointed stars represent the state's three regions — northern, central and southern — and their 18 points reference Illinois' founding in 1818. A sun on the horizon, also featured on our current state flag, represents renewal. The colors — blue for unity, green for agriculture, and yellow for a bright future — honor Illinois' history and natural beauty.

Flag Design No. 2752

Designer's relationship to Illinois: They have lived in Illinois for their entire life (40 years). They grew up in Naperville and then moved to Chicago where they lived for 18 years before moving to Des Plaines.

Meaning behind the flag design: My flag uses a silhouette of the State of Illinois as the focal point. I always felt Illinois had a distinct outline. 21 stars circle the state to symbolize it being the 21st state to enter the Union. Additionally, I used the circular design to symbolize Illinois being a kind of center of the country, whether it is geographically or from Chicago serving as a hub for train and air traffic. Finally, the blue edges represent the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan, which flank the state.

Flag Design No. 3679

Designer's relationship to Illinois: According to the designer, ever since they were a kid, they have been proud to call Springfield their home. The designer said they come from generations of Illinoisans and have chosen to raise their family in Illinois as well. They've spent much of their life exploring the state and experiencing its wonders firsthand. What they've found is there is much to what makes Illinois great: the state's rich history, landscape, variety of people and the places they live. The designer said their design reflects these qualities in a way that can hopefully inspire others to share pride for their home.

Meaning behind the flag design: The outline of Abraham Lincoln symbolizes liberty, opportunity and the equality of all people. The outline of Illinois symbolizes the pride we share in our state. The circle of 21 stars represents our communal togetherness and honors our state as being the 21st to join the USA. The white star symbolizes Chicago and its upper-right location. Dark blue represents our blue-collar attitude and industrial power. Gold represents our prairie and agricultural history. White represents our bright spirit.

Flag Design No. 3754

Designer's relationship to Illinois: The designer said they have lived in Illinois for nearly ten years and have grown to love the state. They say it's an excellent place to settle down, with welcoming people who have always made them feel at home. From stunning city views to beautiful countryside, the designer said their appreciation for the state has deepened.

Meaning behind the flag design: A large gold star in the center draws attention, much like the standout features of Illinois. The gold color symbolizes the richness of our state, people, land and views. A horizontal blue line symbolizes Lake Michigan, separating the sky from the rich land. Two smaller lines add a neat, elegant touch. The central circle abstractly represents the view from above Abraham Lincoln's hat.

Flag Design No. 4129

Designer's relationship to Illinois: The designer said they have been born, raised and educated in the State of Illinois, and are proud to call Illinois home for what they believe will be the rest of their life. The designer says they believe strongly that their character and view of the world as a citizen has been shaped by the cultural, geographic, economic, historical and architectural diversity of Illinois.

Meaning behind the flag design: The four dark blue bars in this submission represent the four geographic features that hold the greatest geographic, economic and historic significance in the creation of Illinois: Lake Michigan, the Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Chicago River/Illinois River system. The corn kernels and 21-pronged gear that form our state flower, the Violet, represent the agricultural and industrial foundations of our state and its status as the 21st state admitted to the Union.

Flag Design No. 4220

Designer's relationship to Illinois: The designer said they were born and raised in Illinois from 1984-2002. They spent their childhood in central Illinois, and have lived in Bloomington/Normal for 26 of their 40 years of life. Their dad, sister, niece and the majority of their aunts and uncles still live in Illinois. The designer said their grandparents are buried in Illinois. They found out about the Illinois Flag Commission only days after spending two years abroad, and found their design from 2016 just today (when they submitted). The designer said it needs work and it lacks the state's current eagle, and suggested it could be placed in a white silhouette above the star.

Meaning behind the flag design: This slice of Old Glory is also a nod to the French flag and banners, which both stood here at one point in time. A single star shines our contribution to the union. Abe's silhouette reminds us of our past. The red field highlights our present: Illinois' most iconic border, formed by the mighty Mississippi. It's steady flow, as progress itself, cuts through our banner in white leading us ever into the future. The flag still lacks any representation of our Illiniwek and Miami heritage, which should be added by their progeny.

Flag Design No. 4321

Designer's relationship to Illinois: The designers who worked on this flag are high school students living in Illinois named Johnna and Spresalynn.

Meaning behind the flag design: The state butterfly, the Monarch, is the focal point of this flag that includes 21 stars for Illinois being the 21st state (the larger star represents Illinois). The orange represents success, determination and creativity, while the blue stands for trust, loyalty, sincerity and strength.

Flag Design No. 4669

Designer's relationship to Illinois: The designer said in the fall of 2004, they lived in Chicago and were studying industrial design at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Their great-grandfather, Harry James McCartney was an engraver in Chicago. He worked downtown at the Sears, Roebuck and Co. where he illustrated and engraved images of lamps, heaters and other household accessories that were printed on the pages of the Sears mail-order catalog. His father, James A. McCartney, was a Civil War veteran from Illinois who became the state's attorney general from 1881-85.

Meaning behind the flag design: The 21 red plus white stripes represent Illinois as the 21st state of this Union. The blue field with the six-pointed white star represents Chicago. The negative space between the blue and white/red fields form the shape of an 'I' to represent Illinois.

History of the Illinois State Flag

Illinois was admitted to the union in 1818, but it did not adopt an official design until nearly 100 years after the state was admitted to the Union. Like many other states, the Illinois flag was the result of a contest sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

During a 1911 visit to Washington D.C., Ella Park Lawrence, then State Regent of DAR, noted that no emblem or flag of Illinois was on display in the Continental Memorial Hall. Eager to create a flag, Lawrence wrote hundreds of letters to members of the General Assembly encouraging them to support a bill creating a state flag; at the same time, she offered a $25 prize to the Illinois DAR chapter for submitting the best design for the flag. This was a considerable sum for 1911, equivalent to approximately $600 today.

The winner, Lucy Derwent of the Rockford DAR chapter, had placed the Great Seal on a plain white background. State Sen. Raymond Meeker introduced legislation to adopt the design. The measure passed and automatically became law on July 6, 1915, when then-Gov. Edward Dunne failed to sign the bill.

Although the law stated that the flag should contain a reproduction of the official State Seal, few if any companies manufactured it correctly. Oftentimes the sun, water, and prairie were omitted from the design. The adding of arrows, grasped in one claw, and an olive branch signifying a time of war and peace illustrated that of the U.S. Seal. Strangely, the background color often changed to cater to a particular event.

More than 50 years would pass before any suggestions to change the flag were proposed. In 1968, Chief Petty Officer Bruce McDaniel of Waverly, serving in Vietnam at the time, wrote to state Rep. Jack Walker expressing his concerns that, unlike other state flags in his mess hall, the Illinois state flag could not be identified because it did not carry the state’s name. Responding to CPO McDaniel’s request, Rep. Walker sponsored a bill to amend the Flag Act of 1915.

Walker’s legislation adding “ILLINOIS” beneath the Great Seal was approved and signed into law on Sept. 16, 1969. However, this law, like the Flag Act of 1915, did not address specific flag design specifications. To ensure that the flag’s elements, proportions, and colors would be used consistently, then-Gov. Richard B. Ogilvie appointed a flag committee. The committee made the following recommendations:

• The flag of the State of Illinois shall be made up of the emblem portion of the seal of the state rendered in color on a white field with the word “Illinois” in blue below the emblem.
• The emblem portion and the word “Illinois” shall constitute approximately 80% of the vertical length of the flag.
• The word “Illinois” shall be in height approximately 1/12 the diameter of the emblem.
• The flag shall be composed of eight colors, identified in the Standard Color Card of America as: Old Glory Red, No. 70180; Old Glory Blue, No. 70075; Midnight Black, No. 70090; Nickel Grey, No. 70152; Hunter Green, No. 70069; and Brown, No. 70119.
• The word “Illinois” shall be horizontal, in a straight line and in serif lettering comparable to Craw Clarendon Modern typeface.

These recommendations, along with a colored painting of the flag, were submitted to then-Gov. Ogilvie by the committee. On July 1, 1970, a new flag design created by Florence Hutchison of Greenfield, “a white field carrying the word ‘ILLINOIS’ and the emblem portion of the state seal,” was approved and began flying atop the State Capitol in Springfield.

In 1897, the Illinois General Assembly mandated that the U.S. Flag be flown daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but made no mention of a state flag because Illinois did not have one at the time. Surprisingly, it was not until 1965 that the state flag was regularly flown over the State Capitol Building daily. While no statute or executive order is supporting this practice, it’s assumed that the state flag is flown by protocol or custom.