SPRINGFIELD - Voting is open for Illinois residents until Feb. 14 to choose a new state flag. After reviewing more than 4,800 entries for the Illinois state flag redesign contest, the Illinois Flag Commission opened public voting last week. Residents can vote online for one of 10 new designs, to keep the current Illinois flag, or for two former flag designs — the state's 1918 centennial flag or the 1968 sesquicentennial flag.
The online vote is nonbinding but will be included in a report that the Illinois Flag Commission will present to the Illinois General Assembly before April 1. After the commission delivers its final report, the General Assembly will decide whether to adopt a new flag or keep the current one.
The current Illinois flag features the state seal on a white background. The bicentennial flag consists of 10 stars on each side of a white and blue banner, with a larger 21st star representing Illinois as the 21st state admitted to the United States. The sesquicentennial flag has a dark blue field with an orange image of the state in the middle of a white "I," surrounded by 20 stars in a circle and a larger 21st star in the upper right corner.
Voting is open now and can be done at https://apps.ilsos.gov/stateflag/. Voters can vote multiple times and can select one flag once every 24-hour period. If you have multiple favorites, you can vote for a different flag each day. Selections cannot be altered after a vote is casted on the website. Members of the flag commission include: Najjar Abdul-Musawwir, Benjamin Grantham Aldred, Terri Bryant (Senator), Tim Butler, Sherrell L. Byrd, Jr., Cristina Colunga, Andrew Conneen, Sierra Force, George Howard, Dave Joens, Gabrielle Lyon, Tim Mellman, Matthew G. Prochaska, Tom Rooney, Michelle Renae Smith, Will Stephens, Dr. Tandra Taylor, Toby Trimmer, Doris Turner (Senator), Dave Vella (Representative), and Tom Weber (Representative).
