SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley) says the time and costs invested in a proposal to redesign the Illinois State Flag have been for naught, as Illinoisans have voted to keep the current State Flag design.

Announced March 6, the results of public voting noted that of the 385,000 votes received, the current Illinois state flag received more votes than the next five top designs combined.

Established by the passage of Senate Bill 1818 in August 2023, the Illinois Flag Commission selected 10 top finalists from nearly 5,000 submissions for the State Flag redesign contest. These designs were available for five weeks of public viewing and voting on the Secretary of State’s website.

Critics of the proposed redesign, including Senator Syverson, had argued that the effort was a misuse of time and taxpayer dollars.

“Illinois residents spoke against a proposal to change our State flag, which is not a surprise. I initially opposed the creation of a new Flag Commission to explore the idea, which ended up costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars just to go through this exercise,” Senator Syverson said. “And when taxpayers realized the additional costs of implementing a flag change in Illinois, estimated at tens of millions of dollars, they rejected the idea.”

Senator Syverson says his opposition stemmed from the fact that the state could not afford to divert resources to a flag redesign when more pressing issues, such as financial instability, struggling schools, and the need to attract businesses, remain unaddressed. In a state already grappling with significant budget challenges, he viewed the flag redesign as emblematic of misplaced priorities, especially at a time when Illinois residents are looking for solutions to everyday problems.

The original flag was designed by Lucy Derwent, a Rockford-native, in 1915. That design has only changed slightly in the subsequent years, such as adding the word “Illinois” below the seal in 1969.