Currently, an exploratory vote is being held to determine whether Illinois could get a new flag. There are 10 options and until Friday, voting is available online. One vote can be submitted each day for the selected options, and a different design can be voted for each day. 

With the current state flag having been adopted in 1969, it has been 55 years since Illinois got a new flag. The current flag displays the state seal on a white background, and it has eight colors and many small details, such as tufts of grass and feathers on an eagle. According to a booklet published by the North American Vexillological Association, a flag should be distinctive, simple, and have high contrast. Vexillology is the study of flags, their design, and their usage. According to the booklet, flags should have two to three colors, with distinct and representative symbology. The current flag of Illinois does not match up to these standards.

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“Sometimes you need a fresh coat of paint on things,” Serisen Bardsley, a new Illinois resident and SIU undergraduate student, said.

An Illinois flag design commission was put together with members ranging from average Illinois citizens to Sen. Terri Bryant, who represents the state’s 58th Senate District, which includes Carbondale. When asked how the flag selection process has gone, Bryant stated that it has gone well, and after voting closes on Feb. 14, the commission will have one more meeting to tally the votes, gather the data, and prepare it for submission to the general assembly, who will vote on whether to select the winning finalist as the new flag, select a different design, or simply keep the current flag as it is.

The General Assembly could also decide to use the sesquicentennial flag or the centennial flag, both of which are options on the vote. These flags have already been used for anniversaries of the state’s establishment, and both have meaning behind their designs. 

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Aesthetics play a role in selecting a new flag, as do ease of recognizability and printing. Another thing to consider is what the flag’s design represents.

“I think that part of what would be really wonderful to see in a flag design for Illinois is some show to its Midwestern roots,” Juniper Oxford, an Illinois resident and head of the LGBT resource center at SIU, said. “Minnesota changed their flag to have that light blue-dark blue. That was symbolic, I think, of its waterways. To have some stuff like that, to have something about our fields, something about our production, something about the waterways… those feel quintessentially Illinoisan.”

“I like the present flag. I’ve made no bones about that,” Bryant said. “I hope we keep the flag that we already have. There’s not anything wrong with the flag.”

Bardsley, who is a geography student, said that a simpler flag design would allow for more versatility in use for labelling charts, graphs, and maps. 

“The simpler a flag is, the easier you’re able to stretch its use case,” Bardsley said. “So like, graphic design on a website… it’s going to be an easier eye-catch, and people are going to be able to understand it much quicker.” 

To vote, go to https://apps.ilsos.gov/stateflag/. Voting closes on Friday Feb. 14, but a vote can be submitted every day until the polls close.

Staff Reporter Elis Wess can be reached at ewess@dailyegyptian.com

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