Flag and seal of Illinois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
State of Illinois

Use	Civil and state flag
Proportion	3:5
Adopted	July 6, 1915; 110 years ago (1915-07-06) (initial version) September 17, 1969; 56 years ago (1969-09-17) (alteration)
Design	A state seal above the word Illinois in blue on a white field.
Designed by	Sharon Tyndale

Great Seal of the State of Illinois
Armiger	State of Illinois
Adopted	1868
Supporters	7
Motto	"State Sovereignty, National Union"

The Great Seal of the State of Illinois is the official symbol of the U.S. state of Illinois. It shows that a document comes from the state government. The current seal was created in 1868 and officially adopted in 1869. It features a bald eagle standing on a rock with its wings open. The eagle holds a shield and a banner in its beak. A sunrise over water is in the background. This seal replaced an older one from 1818, which looked very similar to the Great Seal of the United States.

The flag of the state of Illinois shows the main parts of the state seal on a white background. This flag was first adopted in 1915. The word Illinois was added to the flag in 1970.

Illinois State Symbols: Flag and Seal

What is the Great Seal?

The Great Seal of Illinois was designed in 1819. It was inspired by the Great Seal of the United States. In the eagle's beak, there is a banner with the state motto: "State Sovereignty, National Union." The dates on the seal, 1818 and 1868, are important. 1818 is the year Illinois became a state. 1868 is when the Great Seal was redesigned by Sharon Tyndale.

Interestingly, the motto "State Sovereignty" comes first. However, on the banner, the word "State" is at the bottom, and "Sovereignty" is upside-down. Illinois is one of nine U.S. state flags that feature an eagle. Other states with eagles on their flags include Iowa and Michigan.

How the Seal Was Designed

The First Seals

Illinois adopted its first Great Seal in 1819. The first law said that the Secretary of State had to get and keep the seal. This first seal looked a lot like the Great Seal of the United States. It was used until 1839, when a new version was made. This new version became the Second Great Seal.

Sharon Tyndale's Design

Illinois state historical coat of arms (illustrated, 1876)

Sharon Tyndale, who was the Illinois Secretary of State, wanted a third state seal. In 1867, he asked State Senator Allen C. Fuller to propose a new seal. Tyndale suggested changing the state motto from "State Sovereignty, National Union" to "National Union, State Sovereignty."

However, the state legislature passed a bill on March 7, 1867, that kept the original motto wording. Even though they didn't agree with his motto change, the legislature asked Tyndale to design the new seal. Tyndale found a clever way to show his idea. He kept the words in the correct order on the banner. But he made the banner twist, so the word "Sovereignty" appears upside down. This makes it harder to read.

Tyndale's seal shows a bald eagle on a rock. The eagle holds a shield in its claws and the state motto banner in its beak. The shield has thirteen stars and thirteen stripes. These represent the original thirteen states of the Union. The date August 26, 1818, is also on the seal. This is when Illinois's first constitution was adopted in Kaskaskia. The year 1818 (statehood) is shown below 1868 (when the current seal was adopted). This main design has stayed the same, with only small changes over time. The Illinois Secretary of State still keeps the Great Seal.

The Illinois State Flag's Journey

The law states that the Illinois flag should show the Great Seal's emblem. This emblem is in black or national colors on a white background. The word "Illinois" is written in blue letters below the emblem. It is an exact copy of the Great Seal, but without its outer ring.

Early Ideas for a Flag

Illinois building from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, 1914

Before 1915, Illinois had some unofficial flags. In 1884, a banner with the state's coat of arms was displayed in Washington, D.C. The first flag was made in 1885. It had a red background with a gold coat of arms. This flag was last seen in 1905.

The First Official Flag (1915)

Ella Park Lawrence started a campaign in 1912 to get Illinois an official state flag. She was part of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). She encouraged members of the Illinois General Assembly to adopt a flag. In 1914, Lawrence announced a contest to design the flag. The winner would receive $25. Thirty-five designs were submitted. One design was from Miss Lucy Derwent of Rockford. It had a blue background with a white circle in the middle. The state coat of arms was inside the circle.

A panel of judges, led by Lewis Stevenson, chose Lucy Derwent's design. This flag became the official state banner on July 6, 1915. It passed in the Illinois State House and Senate. Governor Edward F. Dunne did not sign the bill, but he also did not stop it.

Adding "Illinois" to the Flag (1969)

The Illinois state flag as depicted in the 1976 bicentennial postage stamp series.

In the 1960s, Bruce McDaniel, a Chief Petty Officer, asked for the state's name to be added to the flag. He noticed that many people he served with during the Vietnam War did not recognize the flag. Governor Richard B. Ogilvie signed this change into law on September 17, 1969. The new flag, designed by Sanford (Florence) Hutchinson, became official on July 1, 1970.

The Flag Redesign Contest (2025)

In March 2023, the Illinois Senate approved creating the Illinois Flag Commission. This group was tasked with exploring new designs for the state flag. By May 2023, the Illinois House also passed the same bill. Lawmakers said the General Assembly could decide on a new flag in the coming years.

In August 2024, a contest to redesign the flag was announced. People could submit designs from September 3, 2024, to October 18, 2024. The Commission chose ten designs. These were published on December 10, 2024. An online public vote took place in January and February 2025. People could also vote for three historic Illinois flags: the Centennial flag, the Sesquicentennial flag, and the current state flag. The state's General Assembly will make the final decision, no matter the voting results.

On March 6, 2025, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias shared the flag vote results on social media. The current flag received 43% of the votes (165,602 votes). The other 12 designs shared 57% of the votes, with none getting more than 10%. Giannoulias noted that people strongly preferred the current state flag. These results were sent to the Illinois General Assembly, who will make the final decision.

Outcome of the flag vote

Submission number	Flag in use	#2246	#3679	#896	#4129	#4220	#4321
Flags
Number of Votes	165,602	32,898	29,476	26,559	25,653	21,981	18,574
Vote %	43.14%	8.57%	7.68%	6.92%	6.68%	5.73%	4.84%
Submission number	#2752	Centennial Flag	#4669	#200	#3754	Sesquicentennial Flag
Flags
Number of Votes	15,739	15,159	10,113	9,840	7,169	5,096
Vote %	4.10%	3.95%	2.63%	2.56%	1.87%	1.33%

Special Anniversary Flags

100-Year Centennial Flag

In 1918, artist George H. Schanbacher painted eagles and shields in the Illinois State Capitol. This shield was based on the centennial flag.

For Illinois's 100th birthday as a state in 1918, Wallace Rice designed a special centennial flag. Rice also designed Chicago's flag. This flag had three horizontal stripes: white, blue, and white. It featured 21 stars along the left edge. Ten blue stars were in the top white stripe, and ten in the bottom. These represented the 10 northern and 10 southern states when Illinois became a state in 1818. The middle blue stripe had one large white star for Illinois itself.

150-Year Sesquicentennial Flag

To celebrate Illinois's 150th anniversary in 1968, a sesquicentennial flag was created. This flag was dark blue. It had a white letter "I" in the center, with a red map of Illinois inside it. Twenty white stars formed a circle around the "I." A larger twenty-first star was placed outside the circle, to the upper-right.

200-Year Bicentennial Logo

Illinois did not have a bicentennial flag for its 200th anniversary. However, on January 12, 2017, the state revealed a special logo. This logo was designed by Ben Olsen. It shows a blue outline of the state with the word ILLINOIS above it. In the middle of the state outline, a sunburst effect shines with the number 200 in gold. The word Bicentennial is written vertically in gold on the right side. The dates 1818 and 2018 are below it. Twenty-one gold stars surround the design, showing Illinois as the twenty-first state.

Other Illinois Government Seals

• 

  Seal of the attorney general of Illinois

• 

  Seal of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation

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  Seal of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority

See also

• Illinois Centennial half dollar
• Symbols of Illinois