After Illinois residents cast nearly 400,000 ballots over five weeks in a contest to redesign the state flag, the overwhelming winner was … the current flag. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias on Thursday announced that of the nearly 385,000 votes his office received between January and February, more than 165,000 (43% of all ballots) were cast for the existing flag. That total was larger than the next five candidate flags combined.
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“Some may call it an SOB — a seal on a bedsheet — and the (vexillological) community may hate it, but people overwhelmingly prefer our current state flag,” Giannoulias said in a statement. “Thank you to everyone who made their voice heard on the future of this important symbol of state pride.” The Illinois Flag Commission chose the finalists, which included 10 new designs and three former flags, from nearly 5,000 entries submitted over six weeks last October. The online vote results are non-binding, but will inform a report that the Illinois Flag Commission is set to release to the General Assembly by April 1. After the commission delivers its final report – with a recommendation as to whether the state should adopt a new flag – the Illinois General Assembly will have the choice to adopt a new flag or keep the old one. The flag commission is made up of current and former lawmakers, representatives of state agencies and other advocates appointed by current state officials. It was created in the previous General Assembly by Senate Bill 1818, sponsored by state Sen. Doris Turner, of Springfield, and state Rep. Kam Buckner, of Chicago. The commission selected the 10 finalists in December from 4,844 entries.
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