AH Memorial Library Board Votes To Fly Native American Flag: Report

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Several months after the Arlington Heights Memorial Library board voted to fly a Pride flag that village officials decided they would not, the board is again testing the limits of a local ordinance that limits which flags can be displayed.

The board this week voted that the flagpole outside of the local library will display a Native American flag next month in commemoration of Native American Heritage Month, the Daily Herald reported.

The library board instituted a flag policy that will allow for other flags to pay homage to other groups or organizations at a time when the village ordinance sets limits on how many flags can be displayed on property that is owned, leased, or controlled by the village.

The village ordinance limits flags displayed to include the American flag, the Illinois State flag, the Arlington Heights village flag, and the National League of Families POW/MIA flags, Patch previously reported.

When the library board voted earlier this year to fly a Pride flag outside of the Memorial Library for Pride month in June, board officials said they received 85 emails regarding the issue.

Board trustee John Supplitt brought the request for the Native American flag to be flown in November, according to the report. But he said that it should not be flown under either the American flag or state flag out of respect for what the flags represent.

However, other library board members said that introducing too many flags could open the board up to scrutiny based on the decision it makes on a case-by-case basis.