Jeanne Ives | Jeanne Ives' Facebook page
Jeanne Ives | Jeanne Ives' Facebook page
Jeanne Ives, founder of Breakthrough Ideas, announced that the current Illinois state flag won a contest to choose a new design, surpassing 12 other options by a significant margin. She made this statement in an X post on March 6.
"Great News," said Ives. "Current Illinois flag wins flag contest by a large margin. Thanks to all who voted to keep it."
In 2023, the Illinois General Assembly established the Illinois Flag Commission to explore new designs for the state flag and assess whether the existing flag should be redesigned. According to the Illinois Flag Commission website, over 4,800 entries were submitted for the redesign contest, with voting concluding on February 14.
Screenshot of Jeanne Ives' March 6 post on X
| X
Ives’ post highlighted a report from WGN, which revealed that after five weeks of voting, Illinois residents selected a state flag design. Voters evaluated ten new designs and three older ones, including the current version. Nearly 385,000 votes were cast in total, with 165,000 voters opting to retain the current flag design. The next step involves the Illinois Flag Commission submitting its findings by April 1. Subsequently, the Legislature will decide whether to adopt a new state flag or maintain the existing one.
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias issued a news release on March 6 stating that while some may dismiss the current flag as an "SOB" (seal on a bedsheet) and despite criticism from vexillologists, Illinois residents overwhelmingly favor keeping it. He expressed gratitude to those who participated in voting and underscored the significance of the state flag as a symbol of pride. The release also provided details on vote counts for each of the 13 options considered; more than 165,000 votes were cast for retaining the current flag. The remaining options received between 5,096 and 32,898 votes.
Jeanne Ives is noted as a former Illinois State Representative who served six years representing House District 42. She ran for governor in 2018 and sought election to represent Illinois’ 6th Congressional District in 2020.
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