7 hours Ago By ADDISON WRIGHT Chicago Tribune
He decided to replace a company anniversary flag that he designed with the state flag and has flown it under the American flag every day since. “It’s nice, and I think it’s something that should be flown, and it does represent our state,” Grandchamp said. “I think everybody’s always just raised the American flag, and they don’t raise the state flag.
Since I found it and had an extra set of hooks, I said, ‘Let’s raise it.’” Maligned by some, the state flag design that’s been used for more than 50 years has its fans. But its future is uncertain, as the Illinois Flag Commission is a few weeks away from choosing a winner in a contest to design a new flag to represent the Land of Lincoln — although the outcome will be advisory at best.
Illinois residents have until Feb. 14 to vote — every resident can cast one ballot every 24 hours — on 10 finalists the commission chose from almost 5,000 submissions. The ultimate decision will be made by state lawmakers, who are scheduled to receive the vote totals on the 10 submissions by April 1 as part of a full report from the commission.
Legislators will then consider whether to stick with the current flag or go with one from the design contest. They could also choose to shift to the state’s centennial flag or sesquicentennial flag, according to state Sen. Doris Turner, a Springfield Democrat who sponsored the bill leading to the design contest.
Illinois State Sen. Terri Bryant, a member of the commission, made clear she likes the current flag, which she said she flies outside her house. Several neighbors on her street do the same, she said.
“There are things about our flag that stand out,” said Bryant, a Republican from downstate Murphysboro. “For instance, when the flag moves, and when it flies in the air it actually looks like the water moves. Same thing with the sun.
” The state flag is essentially a white background with just the state seal — a bald eagle with the state motto in its mouth standing on a rock bearing the year of the state’s incorporation, 1818, and the seal’s creation, 1868. Ted Kaye, a vexillologist, or person who studies flags, calls it a “seal on a bedsheet” — an unflattering term for a flag design in vexillology circles — and said Illinois needs a rebrand. He noted that the flag’s details can’t be distinguished at a distance and that the white background can’t be used on graphic designs because the white bleeds into the background.
He also said he doesn’t think state seals belong on flags because seals represent the government while a flag is meant to represent the people of the state. “As a civilian, I would ask myself, why would I want to fly the flag of the government of my state at my house?” Kaye said. Changing the flag would involve costs.
Utah, which adopted a new flag last March, spent almost $500,000 on its flag task force and $5,000 on prize money for design finalists . A report compiled by the Utah Fiscal Analyst Office said it might cost local governments $20 per flag to replace old flags, and the governor included $50,000 in his 2023 state budget for marketing the new flag. Minnesota also changed its flag last year.
The Minnesota Legislature allocated $35,000 to fund the design phase, but the biggest cost burden falls on state agencies and municipal governments, including fire and police departments. For instance, a county commissioner told a local news outle t that it would cost $50,000 to replace the state seal on a justice center. The state’s Department of Corrections is updating uniform patches gradually, with an estimated cost over time of $2 million, a spokesperson said.
Bryant said she was not clear on what the costs of changing the flag might be and plans to request an estimate during the spring legislative session. But Turner said she is confident the costs won’t be high. She noted that the commission is made up of volunteers and said the state would follow Utah in replacing flags gradually as they wear out.
“We haven’t delved that far down into it and put numbers together, but we will probably follow what Utah and several other states that have gone through this process have done,” Turner said. “They phased in changing the flag so it’s not like you wake up one day and every flag is gone.” Regardless of the outcome, Turner said the flag competition serves a productive purpose.
“This is an opportunity for some civic engagement, state pride and representation as this is as close to the community that we can possibly get,” she said. Proponents of leaving the flag alone, among them Ayn Patton Bartok, a resident of Bryant’s downstate district, have taken their case to social media. After hearing of the possible flag change, Bartok rallied dozens of local residents on Facebook to vote in favor of the current flag.
“Primarily as a taxpayer in the state of Illinois, I don’t feel that this is an expenditure that our government should consider,” Bartok said. “I’m concerned that our state is not necessarily physically sound, and this seems to be a frivolous endeavor.” “If there was some reason that a new flag was going to improve our business relationships with other states, or attract more people to live in Illinois, I might understand, but I don’t even think that’s the case,” Bartok said.
“There’s not been enough evidence to persuade me that getting a new flag is going to solve any of the state’s problems.” John Kokoris, who bills himself as “Mr. Illinois” and speaks about state history and other subjects at libraries, said he’s been surprised by the number of people saying they like the current flag.
“I hear a lot of people say, ‘Oh I like the flag. I like the eagle.’ There’s just patriotic people out there who like that sort of thing,” Kokoris said.
“I would have loved to see it updated, but a lot of great things have been done and accomplished under the current flag.” Kaye, the vexolligist, said the state’s process for involving residents in the flag decision is flawed because voting includes the current flag. That means the flag that flies now could come out on top with less than 50% of the votes while residents who want a different flag will be divided across the 10 submitted designs.
“This conflating of democratic participation in choosing the flag and lack of expertise in creating a great design for them to choose from is a challenge,” Kaye said of the Illinois process. But Turner said it was important to include the current flag in the voting “to give individuals who felt strongly that option.” Kokoris and Bryant also take issue with the selection process of the 10 finalists.
“Everyone seems confused, and I feel like if we had better finalists, if people could have seen some of those more unique ideas that might have opened their eyes to what could be,” Kokoris said. “Instead, we’re looking at stars and stripes and red, white and blue and (former President Abraham) Lincoln’s head. And I love Lincoln, but don’t get me wrong, it’s just like there’s so many more ways to talk about Illinois.
” Turner said the 10 finalists were selected over a four-hour meeting in which each commission member presented their 10 favorite flag designs and the members chose from that pool. No matter the outcome, Turner said this process has increased civic engagement around the flag. Out of the 4,844 entries received over the six-week time period, Turner said several hundred submissions came from elementary, middle and high school students.
“The commission should be able to say, we like the stars from this one and the colors from that one. Let’s combine them,” said Kaye. “The goal is to design a flag, not to select a design.
” Tim Butler, a former Republican state representative and member of the flag commission, said whatever the outcome of the competition and legislative deliberation, the process has been a healthy one for a flag that didn’t get much attention. “Hopefully, if nothing else, this raises the visibility of our flag,” said Butler, of Springfield, “and people take a little more pride in it.”.
