(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Ten finalists for the Illinois state flag re-design contest have been selected. Voting is now open for people to say what they would prefer.
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said members of the Illinois flag commission selected 10 of their favorite designs from nearly 5,000 submissions.
While the members of the flag commission have selected their top 10, you now have an opportunity to vote for your favorite as well.
Voting is open online to Illinois residents. Voting can been completed here, now through Feb. 14.
Once voting is finished, Illinois lawmakers will vote on whether to adopt a new flag, return to a previous iteration or keep the current flag.
Submission 4669 is one of the finalists. The designer studied a UIC in 2004 and says their great-great-grandfather was Illinois’ Attorney General James A. McCartney. The design includes an “I” to represent Illinois, 21 stripes to represent Illinois as the 21st state, and a six-pointed start to represent Chicago.
Design 4321 was created by high school students Johnna and Spresalynn. It includes 21 stars and the state butterfly, the Monarch.
An Illinois native who spent much of their life in Bloomington/Normal created design 4220, which includes a silhouette of President Abraham Lincoln and the state’s western border.
Flag design 4129 features corn kernels that form the state flower – the violet – and blue bars to represent the Ohio River, Chicago River/Illinois River system, Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. It was designed by a life-long Illinoian.
Flag 3754 was designed by an Illinois resident of 10 years. The design incorporates a stripe representing Lake Michigan and a circle to symbolize Abraham Lincoln's hat.
A Springfield resident designed flag 3679, which includes both a silhouette of Illinois and Abraham Lincoln. There are also 21 stars, one of which represents Chicago.
Submission 2752 came from a 40-year-old in Des Plaines who grew up in the Chicago area. The flag includes a silhouette of Illinois outlined in 21 stars. There are two blue bars representing Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. The circular design is meant to represent the state “being a kind of center of the country.”
Flag 2246 was designed by someone whose “connection to Illinois runs deep.” The flag includes the rising sun found on the original flag, three six pointed stars representing the state’s three regions, and 21 stripes also representing that state’s agricultural roots.
The flag with the least amount of changes from the current flag is design 896, it keeps the seal and adds red and blue bars to eliminate the “seal-on-bedsheet look.” The designer, whose late wife was from Oak Park, said the design is practical and economic.
The final design is submission 200, which was created by an 18-year-old from Rock Island. The blue and white design includes nods to Lake Michigan, the Mississippi River, the Illinois River and the state being the 21st to join the union.
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