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* Winter break had just started when my FOIA for the Illinois Flag Commission submissions came through. The rejects did not disappoint—here is a small sample…
* I think this would be a perfect I voted sticker…
* Come on people…
Click here to check out all the submissions. There are definitely some hidden gems—let me know which ones are your favorites!
If you need a refresh of the commission’s selection you can find that here.
posted by Isabel Miller
Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 9:37 am
Previous Post: Happy birthday, Isabel!
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I am disappointed in myself for not submitting a design.
Comment by Loyal Virus Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 9:46 am
272 … to paraphrase Mark Twain … “If that [flag] don’t fetch them, I don’t know … .”
Comment by Anyone Remember Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 9:50 am
It’ll take a while to get through them all, but so far I kind of like 264 (though I’m not seeing any gold stripe). The cornstalk is nice.
Lots of stars and stovepipe hats.
Comment by JoanP Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 10:01 am
I’ve only been thru about 1/3 of them - some pretty good, others maybe not so much. Congrats to all the students (and their teachers) that submitted. Good combination of Civics & art👏
Comment by Interim Retiree Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 10:19 am
I do love the riff on the proposed New Zealand Laser Kiwi flag (#73).
Comment by Zim Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 10:20 am
57 with better colors and slight edits is the winner
Comment by Oklahoma Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 10:25 am
I kinda love the idea of the current flag, but with the eagle holding Squeezy the pension python…
Comment by Soccermom Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 10:54 am
I’m not a fan of memorializing things like corn, pumpkins, city skylines, cardinals, flowers, monarchs, etc. on a flag because they are always subject to change. And Abe Lincoln is great, but Illinois already known for Lincoln and has more history since the 1800s. That said, I wonder how the committee selected the finalists. There were some really good ones that weren’t selected. Would have been interesting to have the public choose their favorites from all the submissions in a truly democratic process. We have a very creative public!
Comment by Subjectively speaking Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 10:59 am
The Flag that is the play on the Cheap Trick logo and the Bluey flag are worthy of consideration.
I would like to see Laser Lincoln on the flag as well.
Comment by OneMan Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 11:00 am
Thanks for sharing these! Some of the ones by children for their art teachers are very cute, and show pride in their state. I have only looked at one file so far, but I am impressed the children’s commitment to the project.
Comment by H-W Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 11:17 am
looks like the commission did the best they could with alot of really terrible submissions.
Comment by James Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 11:23 am
Who would reject a burrito? We need hearings.
Comment by Jane Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 11:34 am
A lot of them were bad, but many were better than what the commission chose. Vote Centennial Flag.
Comment by ste_with a v_en Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 11:41 am
Keep the old one
Comment by low level Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 11:50 am
I had a couple design ideas I never submitted, including one of a vertical flag (portrait orientation) to better match the shape of the state. A similar idea to design 5, just vertical.
Comment by thechampaignlife Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 11:55 am
#4054 really does it for me. Graphically and symbolically it is far better than any of the finalists.
Comment by Captain Obvious Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 12:04 pm
They couldn’t do a truly democratic process cause they knew Abe death-raying the confederate flag would’ve won in a landslide
Comment by SweetLou86 Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 12:07 pm
After a thorough and scientific analysis of all of the submissions, I can state with 90% confidence that the people of Illinois really like stars.
– MrJM
Comment by @misterjayem Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 12:10 pm
I too wish I had submitted a design. My design would have a shot! LOL
Comment by Levois Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 12:11 pm
The last one, 4838, is intriguing with the use of the sign language symbol for I. Abstracted and simplified, that could be a neat nod to our history of serving people with disabilities (e.g., https://iadp.ahs.illinois.edu/history/).
Comment by thechampaignlife Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 12:16 pm
Something that incorporates our digital history could be neat, such as alternating colors on 5 stars to represent the 21st state in binary.
Comment by thechampaignlife Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 12:25 pm
4187 is a wild one.
Looking through the wide variety of good designs, I think it’s a shame so many of the finalists are broadly similar–blue, white, maybe a bit of gold, a bunch of stars.
I’m surprised by all the fleur-de-lis. (Fleurs?) I could be wrong, but I don’t think of the French period of the state’s history as having a particularly strong influence on it today.
Of course there are submitters whining about communism and “woke.” It’s so tedious.
Comment by TooManyJens Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 1:22 pm
Thanks for the FOIA request. I can’t really say I’m surprised at the number of troll entries but it is still disappointing how many thought it was acceptable to submit anything that isn’t at least a flag like design. Even the people I saw that put a hammer and sickle on their flag at least made an attempt to make it flaglike. I wonder how many entries were deleted from the whole process for having either profanity and/or nudity.
Comment by Aaron B Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 1:35 pm
wowzers
Comment by jorky Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 2:52 pm
= I can’t really say I’m surprised at the number of troll entries =
That’s how the British ended up with a research vessel named Boaty McBoatface.
Comment by cover Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 3:12 pm
If less cartoonish example 110 would be good.
Comment by Mason County Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 3:19 pm
=That’s how the British ended up with a research vessel named Boaty McBoatface.=
And how the ISS got the Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT) after Stephen Colbert got his fans to vote Colbert for the space station module that would later be called the Tranquility module. The treadmill was the consolation prize for NASA not calling it Colbert even though that had the most votes.
Comment by Aaron B Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 3:43 pm
Did anyone else automatically think #298 was Squeezy The Python?
I am so glad I clicked on this.
Comment by Occasionally Moderated Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 4:22 pm
Thanks for submitting the FOIA! Obviously a lot of well-meaning students and not-so-well-meaning trolls submitted stuff that couldn’t be seriously considered, but it’s disappointing to see the Commission miss so many better options than what they chose. I’m biased, but partial to #3413.
Comment by Just Thoughts Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 5:00 pm
Appreciative of entrant #4337 for recognizing Waukegan, tenth largest city in Illinois.
Comment by Greentown Blues Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 7:37 pm
Never thought my dated, obscure meme flag (#73) would make CapitolFax but here we are! To blear, I absolutely would proudly fly most of these.
Comment by LaserCard Monday, Jan 6, 25 @ 8:39 pm