Time for a new Illinois state flag?

 I had been sitting on this since I first saw this over at Capitol Fax. Is it time for a new state flag?

Has the time come for a new state flag? https://t.co/PqMwPGXsB9

— Capitol Fax (@capitolfax) March 3, 2023

Basically the Illinois state flag is really Illinois' state seal with Illinois on the bottom. That version of the flag had been adopted in 1969 thanks to a Vietman serviceman who realized that most Americans don't know the state flag of Illinois. Of course this isn't much different than a number of other states such as Iowa, one of our neighbors.

Here is a site that shows possible new flags for Illinois. Below is our current flag.

Chicago Tonight: Cook County's flag to get a new look

Current Cook County Flag

This would legit fall in line with regards to civic symbols. Although perhaps not as important as either the state or the city of Chicago, how many of us think of Cook County having a flag. Many of us have to pay our property tax to them yearly and then of course we may have to do some business with the county court system especially if we have to do jury duty.

Anyway if I was still in school, I wouldn't mind trying to compete in this contest. If this was the 1990s probably would be using crayons to design a new flag, I can only wonder if our more creative students use photoshop to design new flags now.

Chicago Tonight has a bit more if you click the link you will see the finalized designs announced on Thursday.

This county standard has flown forlornly beside its snazzier local, state and national counterparts ever since it was adopted back in 1961. But that’s about to change.

Officials announced a re-design competition in 2019, and while the process stalled during the pandemic, it has picked up steam once again.

Six student-led designs have been chosen as finalists, whittled down from 23 semi-finalists, which were themselves plucked from the nearly 300 original submissions. Each semi-finalist was assigned a design mentor to help hone their idea; occasionally students were paired up if their concepts were similar.

The design brief was to create “an inclusive representation of Cook County, the rich diversity of its residents, the beauty of its landscape, the innovation of its institutions, and the pride of its history.”

Guidelines were also shared from the North American Vexillological Association, which notes that a flag should be simple and easily memorized, use meaningful symbolism, have two or three basic colors, have no lettering or seals, and should be distinctive while using similarities in other flags to show connections.

Are there any designs that you might like to see as the county's flag?

Mr. Beat U.S. state flag tier list

 

[VIDEO] This is a live video which will begin streaming at 9:00 PM C.S.T. Mr. Beat will look at the design of state flags and will certainly look at the new Mississippi flag. I would be very curious about how he ranks the flags as opposed to Geography King.

And sorry about the Mr. Beat overdrive especially before the election which while there is a declared winner - mostly from the media - we see there are some disputes. It might be a minute before it settles.

Ranking the 50 state flags

 

[VIDEO] The Geography King on YouTube is discussing what he considers the worst to best designed state flags and including the District of Columbia - the flag of our nation's capital. I think Illinois ranks in the middle somewhere ahead of Iowa as he thinks the Illinois flag seemed designed by a professional. He seems to think a few of the state flags were designed by elementary school students. His opinion of course.

And I share this video with you for a good reason and by about 7:00 PM you will see why. I hope you enjoy this video and perhaps you might have state flags you might consider your favorite.

BTW, since this video was published last year one state - Mississippi - has changed their flag from the design you see here. Rightfully the flag of the Confederacy is considered by Geography King as a symbol of rebellion against the US. Many popularly consider the Confederacy a racist notion, however, I'm not really trying to start a debate over it. Just note that the flag of Mississippi has since been changed during the course of 2020.

Chicago flag 100 years

Today the Chicago flag that you see in the sidebar celebrates 100 years. You can read more about the flag and it's history over at Curbed Chicago.

Happy 100th birthday of the Chicago city flag! pic.twitter.com/oOYvc1XABj

— Dennis Rodkin (@Dennis_Rodkin) April 4, 2017

Chicago Stars Ep. 2 - The Great Chicago Fire // MBMHMC tv

[VIDEO] I really like how the officials at the Chicago Fire Department Academy literally had to kick Jahmal Cole out of their training exercise. That is understandable at they are in training and surely there is an element of danger in their training.

Either way that segment is fitting as we explore another meaning for one of the stars on Chicago's flag - the Great Chicago Fire. We learn that there wasn't a fire started by a cow, but several fires near Lake Michigan which due to the buildings of the city at the time with wood and tar just spread all over the city.

Also ironically the alleged farm where the Great Chicago Fire started is exactly at the Chicago Fire Academy located at 558 W De Koven St.