Nearly 5,000 Submissions For New IL State Flag Design Contest

ILLINOIS — Nearly 5,000 entries have been submitted for a potential new Illinois state flag, authorities announced this week.

The 4,844 entries were submitted to the Illinois Flag Commission during a six-week period that closed Oct. 18. The commission will meet before the end of the year to select its top 10 designs, and, starting in Janary, the public will be able to vote online for one of the new designs, or for the current flag, the 1918 Centennial Flag or the 1968 Sesquicentennial Flag.

The state flag has not had a major redesign since 1915.

“The contest has encouraged us all to reflect on what makes us proud to be Illinoisans, resulting in some great stories and unique designs reflecting what our state represents,” Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said Tuesday in a news release.

The commission will report its findings by April 1 to the General Assembly, whose members will vote on whether to adopt a new flag, return to a previous iteration or keep the current flag.