Illinois is a constituent state of the United States of America with the nickname of “Land of Lincoln”. The state border extends Wisconsin border to the north, Cairo to the south, Lake Michigan to the northeast, Indiana to the east, Kentucky to the southeast, Missouri to the west and Iowa to the northwest. On December 3, 1818, Illinois was admitted as the 21st member of the union.
Wallace Rice submitted a proposal for the adoption of the official Illinois state flag in 1913 just five years prior to the centennial of statehood. The flag was composed of the horizontal blue-white stripes along with 20 blue stars and one large star, together representing the 21st position in the admission to the union. The design was not approved by the legislature. Later, on July 6, 1915, a flag was designed and finalized in a context by the Daughters of the American Revolution and adopted as the official flag. The flag had white background with design elements derived from the state seal, a rock on land sketch with water and rising sun behind it. It also had a shield bearing the national stars and stripes in the claws of a bald eagle. The beak of the eagle had a ribbon with inscription of state motto “State sovereignty-national union” as well as dates: 1818 for statehood and 1868 as the indication of first state seal, all displayed on the rock.
The flag did not seem to have any unique distinctive appearance with other state flags. So, on June 1, 1970, the flag design was changed. The previously omitted sun was placed at the design with definite colors for the seal elements like water, rock, land and sun. The state name is added beneath the seal in blue letters. The design was strictly specified to be followed by every flag manufacturer and artists.
