Official flag and government emblem of the U.S. state of Illinois
State of Illinois
|
|
Use
| Civil
and
state flag
|
---|
Proportion
| 3:5
|
---|
Adopted
| September 17, 1969
; 54 years ago
(
1969-09-17
)
|
---|
Design
| A state seal above the word Illinois in blue on a white field.
|
---|
Designed by
| Sharon Tyndale
|
---|
|
Great Seal of the State of Illinois
|
---|
|
Armiger
| State of Illinois
|
---|
Adopted
| 1868
|
---|
Motto
| "State Sovereignty, National Union"
|
---|
The
Great Seal of the State of Illinois
is the official emblem of the
U.S.
state, and signifies the official nature of a document produced by the state of
Illinois
. The
flag of the state of Illinois
consists of the seal of Illinois on a white background, with the word "Illinois" underneath the seal. The present seal was adopted in 1869, the
flag
bearing the central elements of the seal was adopted in 1915, and the word
Illinois
was added to the flag in 1970. In a 2001 survey by the
North American Vexillological Association
, the flag of Illinois was ranked 49th out of 72 different flags of states and territories, mainly in the US and Canada.
[1]
Design
[
edit
]
The current flag depicts the Great Seal of Illinois, which was originally designed in 1819 and emulated the
Great Seal of the United States
. In the eagle's beak there is a banner with the state motto, "State Sovereignty, National Union." The dates on the seal, 1818 and 1868, represent the year Illinois became a state and the year in which the Great Seal was redesigned by Sharon Tyndale. Although "State Sovereignty" comes first in the motto, "State" is at the bottom and "Sovereignty" is upside-down.
[2]
It is one of nine U.S. state flags to feature an eagle, alongside those of
Iowa
,
Michigan
,
Missouri
,
New York
,
North Dakota
,
Oregon
,
Pennsylvania
and
Wyoming
.
Seal history
[
edit
]
The first Great Seal of the State of Illinois was adopted in 1819 by the first
Illinois General Assembly
. The first law authorizing the Great Seal required the
secretary of state of Illinois
to procure and keep the seal.
[3]
The first seal engraved was essentially a copy of the
Great Seal of the United States
. It was used until 1839, when it was recut. The seal designed in 1839 became the Second Great Seal.
[4]
Illinois Secretary of State
Sharon Tyndale
spearheaded the drive to create a third state seal for Illinois. In 1867, he asked
State Senator
Allen C. Fuller
to introduce legislation requiring a new seal, and suggested to Fuller that the words of the state motto be reversed, from "State Sovereignty, National Union", to "National Union, State Sovereignty". However, the bill passed by the legislature on March 7, 1867,
[3]
kept the original wording. Despite declining his suggestion, the legislature nonetheless entrusted Tyndale with designing the new seal.
[4]
And Tyndale managed to (literally) twist the legislature's intent; he kept the words in the correct order on the banner, but the banner
twists
, so the word "Sovereignty" is upside down, arguably making it less readable.
Tyndale's seal features a
bald eagle
pitched on a rock carrying a shield in its talons and a banner with the state motto in its beak. Thirteen stars and thirteen stripes on the shield represent the original
thirteen states
of the Union. The date August 26, 1818, when
Illinois's first constitution
was adopted in
Kaskaskia
, appears along the bottom arc of the circle, and 1818, the year of statehood, displays on the seal below 1868, the year the current seal was adopted. This basic design has survived through several minor modifications since it was first conceived. The Illinois secretary of state is still the keeper of the Great Seal of the State of Illinois.
[4]
Flag history
[
edit
]
Initial adoption, 1915
[
edit
]
During her time as state regent of the
Daughters of the American Revolution
(DAR) in 1912,
Ella Park Lawrence
began a campaign to have Illinois adopt a
state flag
.
[5]
She was unsuccessful during her time as state regent, but continued to lobby members of the
Illinois General Assembly
to adopt a state flag as a member of the
Rockford
chapter of the DAR.
[5]
On April 1, 1914, Lawrence sent a letter to every Illinois chapter of the DAR announcing a contest to design an Illinois state flag, with the winner receiving a prize of $25, equivalent to $760 in 2023.
[6]
[5]
Thirty-five designs were submitted in response to this contest.
[5]
The contest was judged by a panel chaired by
Lewis Stevenson
,
Illinois Secretary of State
. They selected the design of Lucy Derwent.
[5]
The flag became the official state banner on July 6, 1915, following its passage in the Illinois State House and Senate.
[5]
Governor
Edward F. Dunne
did not sign the bill, but he did not veto it.
[4]
1969 alterations
[
edit
]
In the 1960s,
Chief Petty Officer
Bruce McDaniel petitioned to have the name of the state added to the flag. He noted that many of the people with whom he served during the
Vietnam War
did not recognize the banner. Governor
Richard B. Ogilvie
signed the addition to the flag into law on September 17, 1969, and the new flag, designed by Sanford (Florence) Hutchinson, became official on July 1, 1970.
[7]
Illinois Centennial design
[
edit
]
For Illinois's first 100 years of statehood in 1918,
Wallace Rice
, who designed
Chicago's flag
, designed a centennial flag for the state. It had three horizontal bands of equal width alternating white, blue, white. It was charged with 21 stars along the edge of the hoist. There were 10 blue stars in the upper white band and 10 in the lower white band, representing the 10 northern and 10 southern states at the time of Illinois' statehood in 1818. The center blue band had one large, white star for the state of Illinois itself.
[8]
Illinois Sesquicentennial design
[
edit
]
To mark Illinois' 150th anniversary of statehood in 1968, a sesquicentennial flag was designed for the state. The flag was dark blue, with a stylised white letter "I" defaced with a red map of Illinois in the center, which was surrounded by a circle of twenty white five-pointed stars, with an additional twenty-first star (larger than the others) set outside the circle to the upper-right.
[9]
Illinois Bicentennial design
[
edit
]
There was no bicentennial flag. However, on January 12, 2017, the state unveiled a logo in preparation for the state's bicentennial the following year. The logo, designed by Ben Olsen, features a blue silhouette of the state with the word
ILLINOIS
above. In the center of the silhouette, is a sunburst effect with the number
200
in gold. Along the right side is the word
Bicentennial
also in gold from bottom to top and beneath are the dates 1818 and 2018. This is all surrounded by 21 gold stars denoting Illinois position as the twenty-first state. Executive Director of the Bicentennial Office, Stewart Layne, added, "The sunburst in the middle of the state outline portrays the impact Illinois has made on the country and the world over the past two centuries and the bright future we aspire to for the next 200 years."
[10]
[11]
Possible redesign
[
edit
]
During March 2023, the Illinois Senate approved the Illinois Flag Commission, a commission to explore and develop a design for a new state flag.
[12]
In May 2023, the Illinois House approved the same bill.
[13]
Lawmakers stated that the decision on a new flag (made by the General Assembly) could come in the next few years.
[14]
Government seals of Illinois
[
edit
]
-
-
-
-
In 1918 Springfield artist George H. Schanbacher painted the eagles and shields between the corbel statues in the upper rotunda as part of Illinois' centennial celebration. This shield was modeled after the centennial flag designed by
Wallace Rice
.
[15]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"The Great NAVA Flag Survey of 2001"
(PDF)
.
North American Vexillological Association
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on November 19, 2022.
- ^
"Seal of the State of Illinois"
.
State of Illinois
. Archived from
the original
on February 10, 2012
. Retrieved
February 13,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
Bartlett, Mabel Lane; John E. Grinnell (1967).
"Illinois: know your state: [a text workbook]"
. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. p. ii.
Archived
from the original on September 27, 2016.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Illinois Handbook of Government: 2007-2008"
(PDF)
.
Secretary of State of Illinois
. March 31, 2007. p. 135. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on December 3, 2007
. Retrieved
September 14,
2007
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Schock, Barbara (May 12, 2007).
"Park Lawrence, Mother of the Illinois Flag"
.
The Zephyr
.
Archived
from the original on March 10, 2012.
- ^
1634?1699:
McCusker, J. J.
(1997).
How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda
(PDF)
.
American Antiquarian Society
.
1700?1799:
McCusker, J. J.
(1992).
How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States
(PDF)
.
American Antiquarian Society
.
1800?present:
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
"Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800?"
. Retrieved
February 29,
2024
.
- ^
"Official State Flag"
.
Illinois Facts
. Archived from
the original
on June 28, 2010.
- ^
"Illinois Anniversary Flags (U.S.)"
.
Flags of the World
.
Archived
from the original on October 19, 2012
. Retrieved
February 13,
2021
.
- ^
Valentin Poposki (January 27, 2009).
"Illinois Anniversary Flags: Sesquicentennial flag"
.
Flags of the World
. Retrieved
May 6,
2023
.
- ^
Lazare, Lewis (January 12, 2017).
"Illinois unveils new logo for a big birthday"
.
Chicago Business Journal
. Retrieved
February 13,
2021
.
- ^
Sepeda-Miller, Kiannah (January 12, 2017).
"Illinois prepares to celebrate 200 years with new state logo"
.
The State Journal-Register
. Springfield.
Associated Press
. Retrieved
February 13,
2021
.
- ^
Neveau, James (March 23, 2023).
"Senate Approves Commission to Explore New Illinois State Flag"
.
NBC Chicago
. Chicago
. Retrieved
March 27,
2023
.
- ^
IN May 2023, the Illinois house approved the same bill, and in August 2023, Governor Pritzker signed the bill into law.
- ^
Neveau, James (March 23, 2023).
"Senate Approves Commission to Explore New Illinois State Flag"
.
NBC Chicago
. Chicago
. Retrieved
March 27,
2023
.
- ^
"Illinois Statehouse - Fourth Floor"
.
www.ilstatehouse.com
. Retrieved
April 3,
2023
.
Further reading
[
edit
]