Voting open: Here’s where to cast your ballot for a new state flag

Voters can choose from 10 designs for a new flag, the current flag, the 1918 centennial flag or 1968 sesquicentennial flag. Individuals can vote for one flag once every 24 hours and may select the same or a different flag each day.

To view the designs and vote, visit www.ilsos.gov/stateflag.

The online vote will be non-binding but will inform a report that the Illinois Flag Commission is set to release to the General Assembly by April 1. After the commission delivers its final report – with a recommendation as to whether the state should adopt a new flag – the Illinois General Assembly will have the choice to adopt a new flag or keep the old one.

The flag commission is made up of current and former lawmakers, representatives of state agencies and other advocates appointed by current state officials. It was created in the previous General Assembly by Senate Bill 1818, sponsored by State Sen. Doris Turner, of Springfield, and Rep. Kam Buckner, of Chicago. The commission selected the 10 finalists in December from 4,844 entries.

The possible new flags come from a variety of designers, including born-and-raised Illinoisans, students and other young people, longtime residents and the great-grandchild of James McCartney – a Civil War veteran and past Illinois attorney general.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.