Anyone who has ever looked at the Illinois state flag and thought they could design a better version now has that opportunity.
The Illinois State Flag Commission will begin accepting submissions for new flag designs Sept. 3.
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, whose office oversees the commission, said designs will be accepted through Oct. 18 and can be submitted online or via mail. The website is ilsos.gov/special/IFC/home.html, and the mailing address is The Illinois Flag Commission; Howlett Building, Room 476; 501 S. Second St.; Springfield, IL 62756.
The design options will then be turned over to the commission who will narrow down the recommendations to no more than 10 by Jan. 1, 2025. At that point, the public will be able to vote for their favorite design or vote to maintain the current flag.
“I’m excited to see the creativity of Illinois residents and how they display their passion for our great state,” Giannoulias said. “The symbols that represent and unify our state are important and this presents an excellent opportunity to engage Illinoisans and showcase their pride.”
The Illinois flag is widely considered to be one of the worst state flags in the union by vexillologists and vexillographers — people who study flags and people who design flags. The chief complaint is that it contains too may elements.
“In the United States, about 30 states put a shield or a coat of arms on a solid background, 24 of them are blue backgrounds, but Illinois’ is white, big whoop,” Ted Kaye, author of “Good Flag, Bad Flag” and secretary of the North American Vexillogical Association, said last year when the flag commission was formed. “We call them seals on bed sheet flags. They aren’t very distinctive.”
In recent years, several states including Mississippi, Utah and Minnesota have redesigned their flags. Texas, Colorado and New Mexico are often held up as examples of good flag designs.
Giannoulias’ office has several recommendations and guidelines for those looking to participate in the redesign process. They are listed on the submission website.
The guidelines include things like a limit of three submissions per person, no trademarked images and children must submit designs “in coordination with a parent/ guardian, teacher or adult mentor.”
The commission originally planned to have the options submitted to them by Sept. 1, but appointments to the panel took longer than anticipated and the deadlines were pushed back four months.
The commission is chaired by David Joens, director of the Illinois State Archives. The speaker of the House, Senate president, House minority leader and Senate minority leader each chose four members. The governor’s office chose three members. The final two spots were a representative of the state superintendent of education and a board member of the Illinois State Museum.