HR0589 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0589 LRB099 12768 GRL 36576 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, After Illinois adopted its first Constitution on August 26, 1818, it joined the Union as the 21st state on December 3, 1818; and

WHEREAS, Since its incorporation into the United States of America, Illinois has had 2 official State flags; the first was adopted on July 6, 1915 and the second was adopted on July 1, 1970; for its first 97 years of existence, however, the State of Illinois did not officially adopt a State flag; and

WHEREAS, In 1911, while on a visit to Washington D.C., Ella Park Lawrence, the State Regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution, noticed that the State of Illinois did not have a flag or symbol located in the organization's Memorial Continental Hall; determined to have Illinois adopt a flag, she wrote countless letters to members of the General Assembly in order to have a bill filed creating a State flag; so sincere was her effort that she offered a $25 prize to the Illinois Daughters of the American Revolution chapter that submitted the best design for a flag; and

WHEREAS, A total of 35 designs were submitted to the Daughters of the American Revolution-sponsored contest; in the end, a 4-person panel decided on the submission of Miss Lucy Derwent of the Rockford Daughters of the American Revolution Chapter; the design, which placed the Great Seal of the State of Illinois before a plain, white background, was simple, yet emphatic and plenary; and

WHEREAS, With the Daughters of the American Revolution competition complete and a winning design selected, State Senator Raymond D. Meeker introduced the bill that was to legalize the flag; Senator Meeker's bill passed both houses and became law on July 6, 1915, thereby becoming the Flag Act of 1915; and

WHEREAS, The Flag Act represented the first official endorsement of a State flag; however, it did not necessarily create a monolithic, uniform symbol; various flag manufacturing companies failed to create a standard design, as each reproduction seemed to deviate from the other; in some cases, the colors would modified in order to cater to different settings, such as weddings, funerals, and dinners; over 50 years passed before further changes to the flag were made in order to address concerns of uniformity and distinctiveness; and

WHEREAS, In 1968, Chief Petty Officer Bruce McDaniel of Waverly was serving a tour of duty in Vietnam; the Illinois flag was one of many state flags that were hung on the walls of his mess hall, yet he was concerned that there was nothing in the Illinois flag that distinctly demarcated or represented the State of Illinois; he subsequently wrote his representative seeking a remedy; and

WHEREAS, Upon receiving CPO McDaniel's request to modify the design to make it more easily recognizable as Illinoisan, State Representative Jack E. Walker sponsored legislation to amend the original Flag Act of 1915; Representative Walker's bill added the State's name to the flag, yet failed to address the issues which had given way for non-conformity in the flag's design and reproduction; and

WHEREAS, Then-Governor Richard B. Ogilvie appointed a flag committee made up of the State Historian, the Director of the Illinois Information Service, and the State Records Archivist that was entrusted with the task of ascertaining proper flag design specifications; the committee produced a list of 5 recommendations that they believed would ensure uniformity in reproduction of design and color by flag makers; Florence Sanford Hutchinson of Greenfield submitted a flag design that abided by all the required elements stipulated under the committee's specifications; and

WHEREAS, On July 1, 1970, the amendments to the Flag Act went into effect; the sun, water, rock, land, shield, ribbon, and name of the State of Illinois became the codified components of the flag; and

WHEREAS, While there may be things that divide us here in the State of Illinois, many more things unite us; the flag, which contains the words "State Sovereignty, National Union," is a symbol that was crafted by the faithful hands of a Daughter of the American Revolution; 100 years later, that symbol signifies that much more to every Illinoisan; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize and celebrate the centennial of the flag of the State of Illinois, which will reach the one-hundredth year of existence on July 6, 2015; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of the this resolution be presented to the Rockford Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution as a token of our sincere appreciation for their continued commitment to American history, education, and patriotism both in Winnebago County and the State of Illinois.