41 Illinois State Flag Facts: The Prairie State Of USA!

Illinois is situated in the midwestern region of the United States of America.

The seal of Illinois is present on a white background. Illinois's flag's seal was adopted in the year 1869.

Chicago, which is one of the largest cities in the United States, is located in Illinois. It has the fifth-highest GDP among the 50 states of the USA.

It is the sixth most populous state in the USA. Illinois has a large transportation hub and also agricultural farmland. The official emblem of the state of Illinois consists of the great seal of Illinois.

The current flag of Illinois is the great seal printed on a white background. Below the seal, the word Illinois is written. The seal on the flag was adopted in the year 1869.

Some other central elements were put in during the year 1915. In the year 1970, the word Illinois was added below the state seal.

Origin And History: Illinois State Flag

The Illinois state seal was officially adopted in the year 1867.

• Ella Park Lawrence announced a design contest for the Illinois official state flag.
• She was the state regent of the Illinois chapter of daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
• It was adopted in 1912.
• Lucy Derwent was the winner, and her design was used for the state flag.
• At the center of the engraved seal, there is an eagle holding a banner.
• The words 'State Sovereignty, National Union' are written on the banner. This is the Illinois state motto.
• Sharon Tyndale, the state secretary of Illinois, changed the design.
• There are 13 stripes and 13 stars below the eagle in the state seal. They represent the 13 states of the union.
• There was a discussion to change the motto to 'National Union, State Sovereignty', but it was not approved when the bill passed on March 7, 1867. So, Sharon twisted the banner, so the words read upside down and thereby do the opposite of the legislature's intent.

Cultural Values: Illinois State Flag

'State Sovereignty, National Union' is the Illinois state motto.

• The Illinois state flag underwent many changes in its state seal over the years. To start with, state sovereignty was suggested to be last, and the national union first. However, this plan was declined.
• The design was made so that the banner twisted when it went up, so the word sovereignty became upside down.
• The final Illinois state flag, which is used today, was adopted 52 years ago on June 27.
• The years 1818 and 1868 are also on the seal, as the first was the year when Illinois became a state, and the latter was the year when it was redesigned.
• Perched upon a stone carrying a shield with its talons is a bald eagle at the center of the seal. The bald eagle on the Illinois flag represents the national bird of the United States, which indicates that Illinois is a ruling state under the United States government.
• Sharon Tyndale created the Illinois state university flag. There is also an olive branch in the flag.

Symbols Or Colors Mentioned On The Illinois State Flag

The Illinois state flag has multiple colors on it. Red, blue, green, brown, and yellow colors are used in the flag.

• A bald eagle is in the center of the flag.
• There is a banner with the state motto on it.
• In blue, the name of the state is written.
• The brown represents soil as the prairie state has rich soil.
• The banner, which has the motto written on it, is in red.
• The yellow sunburst shows the political significance of Illinois.
• The 13 stripes on the shield represent the original 13 colonies.
• The symbols and colors signify the official nature of the emblem.

Political Significance: Illinois State Flag

The design of the flag was based on Sharon Tyndale's great seal in 1868.

• Elle Park Lawrence, the state regent in the year 1915, conducted a competition for which the prize was $25.
• Over thirty-five designs were presented in the competition, and the Illinois flag makers' designs were uniform.
• Lucy Derwent's design became the official state banner in the Illinois Statehouse.
• The new flag had the seal of Illinois on it.
• There was also a design that was submitted by Wallace Rice.
• In this design, Illinois was the 21st state to be added to the US, there were 20 white stars and a big white star representing Illinois in the centennial flag and the Illinois seal was absent.
• It had an upper white band in which there were 10 stars and a lower white band in which there were more than 10 stars, representing southern states. The big white star in the center blue band represented Illinois. But, the design was declined.
• The initial flag of the state of Illinois was unrecognizable from the other state flags.
• A third state seal was created by Illinois Secretary of State, Sharon Tyndale.
• The eagle sits on a rock in which the years 1818 and 1868 are inscribed.
• There is also a shield below one foot of the eagle.
• The shield has 13 stars and 13 stripes and bears some similarities to the national flag of America.
• The state name is written in blue at the bottom of the flag.
• The state capital of Illinois is Springfield.
• The state generates a lot of revenue for the United States of America.
• Chicago also has a city flag.
• The great fire of Chicago, which happened in the year 1871, prompted the city to make its own flag.
• There are two light blue bands on the top and bottom. In the middle, there is a white band. There are four red stars in the band. They represent the great Chicago fire of 1871, Fort Dearborn, the century of progress exposition of 1933-34, and the World's Columbian exposition of 1893.