East Central Reporter

In an Aug. 8 Facebook post, Rep. Adam Niemerg raised the alarm about efforts to redesign the Illinois state flag. Niemerg shared a Fox32 news article about the signing of Senate Bill 1818 in his Facebook post.

"This bill has me concerned," Niemerg wrote. "What does the radical left think our flag should be? I voted NO."

Fox32 reported that there have been “only two state flag designs” throughout the state’s 205-year history.

On Aug. 7, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office released a press release about the signing of the bill, touching on the two flag designs Fox32 referred to.

"Throughout our 205-year history, Illinois has boasted two official state flags—and it may be time we create a new one that exemplifies the values of our great state," Pritzker said. "Today, I am proud to sign SB1818 to establish the Illinois Flag Commission to aid us in this process as we decide what our future flag should represent."

Senate Bill 1818, filed in February by Sen. Doris Turner (D-Bunker Hill), “creates the Illinois Flag Commission for the purpose of developing a new state flag design and making recommendations to the General Assembly concerning whether the current state flag ought to be replaced with a redesigned state flag.” It gives a Sept. 1 deadline for the first meeting of the Illinois Flag Commission and a deadline for recommendations to the General Assembly of Dec. 3. Nowhere does it say the flag must be replaced. The bill moved to the House on March 23, and passed both Houses on May 17. It was sent to Pritzker on June 15 for his signature.

NBC5 Chicago reports that other states have changed their flags and that Illinois is not the only one that has gone through the process. In fact, the news outlet said Illinois’ process resembles the process Utah went through in 2021, when they received more than 7,000 designs. South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi also changed their flags, although some changes were more noticeable and drastic than others.