Now is your chance to vote for a new state flag. Residents can vote through Feb. 14 for one of the Illinois Flag Commission’s 10 new designs or one of three former flag designs, including the current one.
The 10 new designs were selected from 4,844 entries the flag commission received during the six-week submission period in 2024.
You can vote for one flag once every 24-hour period. If you have multiple favorite submissions, you may select a different flag each day. Public voting is available at www.ilsos.gov/stateflag.
After the public voting period has ended, the Illinois Flag Commission will count the votes and report its findings and recommendations to the Illinois General Assembly by April 1. Members of the General Assembly will then vote on whether to adopt a new flag, return to a previous iteration of the flag or retain the current flag.
“Now is the time to make your voice heard and I encourage folks to join the process by voting for the flag that they feel best represents our great state,” said Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, whose office is conducting the public vote. “The public feedback received during this period will help guide the General Assembly’s final decision on the future of our state’s flag later this year.”

In August 2023, Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation creating an Illinois Flag Commission “to aid us in this process as we decide what our future flag should represent. Throughout our 205-year history, Illinois has boasted two official state flags — and it may be time we create a new one that exemplifies the values of our great state.”
The first state flag was adopted on July 6, 1915, after a campaign by Ella Park Laurence, state regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In September 1969, the original flag was amended to carry the state’s name so it was easily identifiable.
The next move to design a new state flag was initiated by Governor Richard Ogilvie who convened a committee to develop specifications for a new state flag to ensure uniformity in reproduction of design and color by flag makers.
Sanford Hutchinson of Greenfield, who had previously done extensive research on the official design of the state seal, submitted a flag design that was accepted by the committee, the secretary of state, and the governor. It became the official flag of Illinois on July 1, 1970.