The history of the state flag of Illinois began as an idea by a member of one of the state’s chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Although Illinois was admitted to the Union in 1818, almost 100 years later no state flag had been officially designated. Starting in 1912, Mrs. Ella Lawrence began a campaign through the Illinois DAR chapters to have the legislature officially adopt a state flag. In 1915, she saw her campaign successfully conclude with the acceptance of a design and final passage of the legislation adopting a flag for the state. Years later, in 1970, some adjustments were made to the initial design; a second flag was then named the official state flag of Illinois, superseding the original one.
After she was elected the Illinois State Regent for the DAR in 1911, Mrs. Lawrence attended the organization’s annual national conference in Washington, D. C. While in a meeting hall with a display of state flags, she quickly noticed Illinois had none representing it. Returning home, she held a contest through the local DAR chapters to design the official state flag of Illinois, offering a prize of $25 US dollars (USD) to the chapter submitting the best concept. During the next two years, 35 entries were submitted for judging to a panel that included the Illinois Secretary of State. The winning entry for the state flag of Illinois consisted of the State Seal, originally adopted in 1819, on a white field; it was finally approved by the legislature in 1915.
Interestingly, again as the result of the actions by one of the state’s citizens, the design of the state flag of Illinois was altered in the late 1960s. In 1969, an Illinois native serving in Vietnam took note of the many state flags that hung in the mess hall where he ate every day. Of all of these flags, the Illinois state flag had its origin questioned most consistently. This was due to the name of the state not being part of the design.
Upon his return home, Chief Petty Officer Bruce McDaniel took his concern about this omission in the design of the flag to his representative in the state legislature and petitioned that the design be amended to include the word "Illinois." Subsequently, his representative agreed to sponsor such a bill, which was passed by the legislature and signed into law in 1970. Other than this single alteration, the Illinois state flag has gone unchanged since its adoption in 1915.
