On September 17, 1969 a Illinois State bill authorized a new flag to carry the State of Illinois name.
Governor Olgilvie appointed a committee consisting of the Illinois State Historian, the Director of the Illinois Information Service, and the Illinois State Records Archivist to develop specifications for the new flag to ensure uniformity in production and color by flag makers. The current Illinois State Flag was signed into law by the Illinois Secretary of State and Illinois Governor on July 1, 1970.
The flag includes the emblem of the Illinois State Shield on a white field. The name of the State represented by the flag, Illinois, is printed below the emblem in blue upper case letters.
The Bald Eagle, representing the United States, holds a red streamer in its beak. In the Bald Eagle's talons is a shield with thirteen bars and thirteen stars representing the original thirteen colonies.The State motto, "State sovereignty, national union" means that Illinois governs itself under the government of the United States. The date Illinois was admitted to the Union and the date of the State seal are printed on the boulder. The ground around the boulder symbolizes the rich soil of of Illinois.
