Illinois flag enthusiasts, it’s time to vote for a new state design — or the current one.
Flag voting began Friday and will remain open until Feb. 14, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said.
“Now is the time to make your voice heard, and I encourage folks to join the process by voting for the flag that they feel best represents our great state,” Giannoulias said.
Illinoisans can pick among 10 final designs submitted by the public and three former designs, including the existing state flag. Votes can be cast on the secretary of state’s website, ilsos.gov/stateflag.
Voters can cast a ballot once every 24-hour period with multiple selections, according to the secretary of state’s office.
The Illinois Flag Commission will tally the votes and report its findings to the General Assembly before April 1. The state legislature will make the final call on whether to adopt a new flag or keep the current design.
The commission, made up of state lawmakers, political appointees and representatives from the state archives, state museum and state school superintendent, whittled down a field of 4,844 entries to 10 finalists last month.
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Illinois Secretary of State's Office
Explain the meaning behind your flag: The 21 red + 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 fields form the shape of an I to represent Illinois.
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Illinois Secretary of State's Office
Explain the meaning behind your flag: The state butterfly, the Monarch, is the focal point of this flag that includes 21 stars for Illinois being the 21st state (the large star represents Illinois). The orange represents success, determination, and creativity while the blue stands for trust, loyalty, and sincerity and strength.
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Illinois Secretary of State's Office
Explain the meaning behind your flag: This slice of Old Glory is also a nod to the French flag, banners which both stood here. 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 to the future. The flag still lacks any representation of our Illiniwek and Miami heritage, which should be added by their progeny.
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Illinois Secretary of State's Office
Explain the meaning behind your flag: 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.
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Illinois Secretary of State's Office
Explain the meaning behind your flag: A large gold star in the center draws attention, much like the standout features of our state. Gold color symbolizes out the richness in 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.
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Illinois Secretary of State's Office
Explain the meaning behind your flag: The outline of Abraham Lincoln symbolizes liberty, opportunity and the equality of all people. The outline of Illinois symbolizes the pride we share for our state. The circle of 21 stars represents our communal togetherness and honors our state 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.
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Illinois Secretary of State's Office
Explain the meaning behind your flag: My flag uses a silhouette design 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.
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Illinois Secretary of State's Office
Explain the meaning behind your flag: 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.
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Illinois Secretary of State's Office
Explain the meaning behind your flag: The idea of mine is simply an embellishment to the existing flag (helps to save money on an entire new design). Placing red and blue 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 economic.
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Illinois Secretary of State's Office
Explain the meaning behind your flag: The flag is divided into 7 stripes, 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, which represent 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.
