Illinois’ flag redesign contest comes to a close, resulting in the majority of voters wanting to keep the current flag instead of the other options.

Out of the 385,000 votes received, 165,000 wanted to keep the current design which is more than the votes for the other designs combined. The Illinois Flag Commission will now send a recommendation to the General Assembly, where they will come to a final decision.

With these steps in mind, Jonathan Niemic, social science educator at MCHS, wonders why should the people vote if there is the Commission ultimately deciding the outcome.

“I know that the Illinois State Assembly created a flag commission to continue to look at the design of the flag and make a decision,” says Niemic. “It begs the question, why did we even vote?”

Terri Bryant, Illinois State Senator and member of the Illinois Flag Commission answers why it is vital for citizen participation.

“We created an environment of civic engagement,” says Bryant. “That’s always a positive thing for the state, otherwise people might not get as engaged, and we saw lots of participation.”

The amount of participation showed how passionate people feel about the Illinois flag.

Alice Sarnowski, Illinois resident, spent years trying to petition for a new flag; she was thrilled to see a committee take the reins. However, when there was no change, disappointment followed.

Niemic points out concerns that arose about the Illinois flag as many thought a state flag should symbolize Illinois’s diverse history and culture more.

Sarnowski agreed with those concerns as many small towns could feel underrepresented by the flag.

“Many small towns felt like Chicago was the only city important in Illinois,” says Sarnowski. “ … I thought voting in the whole state would unify us to portray a broader representation.”

These concerns are valid, however Bryant feels the focus should be elsewhere.

“We now see that there are people who would get engaged,” says Bryant. “A reasonable way we can approach this is in five to ten years and see if that changes things, that would allow us to focus on the physical issues pressing Illinois now, considering the funds we currently have.”

Even with the decision to keep the flag the same, Sarnowski still has faith for the future.

“It is a civic duty to uplift our state to the highest caliber and that is done by the citizenry,” says Sarnowski. “I have not given up hope that the younger generation will take this up in the future so … let us stand up with pride.”