Illinois
Illinois state flag: When and how to vote for a new design
Illinois may be getting a new state flag next year, thanks to a public vote on 10 new flag design proposals that is scheduled for January.
Nearly 5,000 entries were submitted to the Illinois Flag Commission, with 10 of the entries making it to the public ballot.
Those flags, along with previous Illinois flags and the state’s current banner, will go up for a public vote, with the commission set to make their recommendations to the state’s General Assembly later in 2025.
“Having received nearly 5,000 entries, I appreciate the creativity and passion reflected in all the submissions,” said Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, whose office convened the Flag Commission meetings.
Here are the 10 designs chosen by the commission:
Photos: Illinois flag design proposals released by commission
More information on the inspiration of each of the designs can be found on the Illinois Flag Commission’s website.
Under provisions of SB 1818, voters will get an opportunity to choose between the flag designs published by the committee, but the final say on whether the state will adopt a new banner, and which banner will fly over the Capitol, belongs to the General Assembly.
Illinois’ current flag incorporates the state’s official seal, which was adopted in 1869. The flag itself was adopted in 1915, with a small addition of the state’s name added in 1970, according to the Flag Commission’s website.
Numerous states have adopted new flags in recent years, including Minnesota, who designed and unveiled a new banner in 2024.
Mississippi and Utah have also unveiled new flags, though other states have made minor changes to their designs or have codified specific standards for their banners.
Rankings of state flags have routinely put Illinois on the lower end of the list, with critics pointing to the state’s use of the official seal rather than a unique design.
CENTRALIA, Ill. – An investigation is underway after multiple people were shot Sunday in Centralia, Illinois, according to a report from WFCN News in southern Illinois.
FOX 2 has confirmed the Illinois State Police is investigating a shooting and taking over the investigation, but ISP could not confirm many further details as of 9 p.m. Sunday.
“The investigation is in its infancy and to protect the integrity of the investigation, no additional details will be released at this time,” ISP said in a statement to FOX 2.
According to WFCN News, the shooting happened around 5 p.m. near the 900 block of East Kell Street in Centralia. Multiple law enforcement agencies have since responded to scene and multiple victims are hospitalized, according to the report.
It’s unclear how many people may have been injured and what led up to the shooting.
Centralia, Illinois is about 70 miles, or just over an hour, east of St. Louis.
This is a developing story. FOX 2 will update as more information becomes available.
The National Weather Service has teams of storm surveryors in the field April 18 investigating several reports of severe storms and tornado touch downs across eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and northeast Missouri.
According to the weather service’s website, windgusts of up to 60 to 70 mph along with teacup-sized hail and several tornadoes were reported April 17.
Many homes and outbuildings were damaged, trees were uprooted and power lines were downed in Lena, Illinois, where the most significant damage occurred, the site pointed out.
Very strong winds also were reported near Washington, Iowa, and Colmar, Illinois, where several outbuildings and grain bins were destroyed.
The weather service received reports of confirmed and possible tornadoes in the areas of Lena, Pecatonica, Shirland, Rockton, Roscoe and Capron.
The teams will be assessing damage this weekend into next week along with county emergency management teams to determine what types of storms occurred and their paths.
Dozens of power outages were reported, as well.
As of the afternoon of April 18, ComEd was reporting 85 active power outages across northern Illinois, down from 241 on April 17, and 6,751 customers affected, down from more than 18,000.
The bulk of those outages and the most customers impacted are concentrated in Jo Daviess and Stephenson counties.
Freeze Watch
from MON 12:00 AM CDT until MON 9:00 AM CDT, Lake County, Kankakee County, La Salle County, DuPage County, Northern Will County, DeKalb County, Southern Will County, Kendall County, Southern Cook County, Northern Cook County, Grundy County, Eastern Will County, Kane County, McHenry County, Lake County, Newton County, Jasper County, Porter County
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