Flag and seal of Illinois - wikipedia Flag and seal of Illinois State of Illinois Use Civil and state flag Proportion 3 : 5 Adopted June 27, 1969 ; 49 years ago ( 1969 - 06 - 27 ) Design Seal of Illinois on a white field Designed by Sharon Tyndale Great Seal of the State of Illinois Details Armiger State of Illinois Adopted 1868 Motto `` State Sovereignty, National Union '' Illinois state historical coat of arms ( illustrated, 1876 ) The Great Seal of the State of Illinois is the official emblem of the state, and signifies the official nature of a document produced by the state of Illinois. The flag of the state of Illinois consists of the seal of Illinois on a white background, with the word `` Illinois '' underneath the seal. The present seal was adopted in 1869, the flag bearing the central elements of the seal was adopted in 1915, and the word Illinois was added to the flag in 1970. Contents 1 Design 2 Seal history 3 Flag history 3.1 Initial adoption, 1915 3.2 1969 alterations 3.3 Illinois Centennial design 4 Government seals of Illinois 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Design The current flag depicts the Great Seal of Illinois, which was originally designed in 1819 and emulated the Great Seal of the United States. In the eagle 's beak there is a banner with the state motto, `` State Sovereignty, National Union. '' The dates on the seal, 1818 and 1868, represent the year Illinois became a state and the year in which the Great Seal was redesigned by Sharon Tyndale. Although `` State Sovereignty '' comes first in the motto, `` State '' is at the bottom and `` Sovereignty '' is upside - down. Seal history The first Great Seal of the State of Illinois was adopted in 1819 by the first Illinois General Assembly. The first law authorizing the Great Seal required the Secretary of State of Illinois to procure and keep the seal. The first seal engraved was essentially a duplicate of the Great Seal of the United States. It was used until 1839, when it was recut. The seal designed in 1839 became the Second Great Seal. Illinois Secretary of State Sharon Tyndale spearheaded the drive to create a third state seal for Illinois. In 1867, he asked State Senator Allen C. Fuller to introduce legislation requiring a new seal, and suggested to Fuller that the words of the state motto be reversed, from `` State Sovereignty, National Union '', to `` National Union, State Sovereignty ''. However, the bill passed by the legislature on March 7, 1867, kept the original wording. Despite declining his suggestion, the legislature nonetheless entrusted Tyndale with designing the new seal. And Tyndale managed to ( literally ) twist the legislature 's intent ; he kept the words in the correct order on the banner, but the banner twists, so the word `` Sovereignty '' is upside down, arguably making it less readable. Tyndale 's seal features a bald eagle pitched on a rock carrying a shield in its talons and a banner with the state motto in its beak. Thirteen stars and thirteen stripes on the shield represent the original thirteen states of the Union. The date August 26, 1818, when Illinois 's first constitution was adopted in Kaskaskia, appears along the bottom arc of the circle, and 1818, the year of statehood, displays on the seal below 1868, the year the current seal was adopted. This basic design has survived through several minor modifications since it was first conceived. The Illinois Secretary of State is still the keeper of the Great Seal of the State of Illinois. Flag history Ella Park Lawrence holds the original Illinois state flag, ca. 1915. Illinois 's flag from 1915 - 1969 Initial adoption, 1915 During her time as state regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1912, Ella Park Lawrence began a campaign to have Illinois adopt a state flag. She was unsuccessful during her time as state regent, but continued to lobby members of the Illinois General Assembly to adopt a state flag as a member of the Rockford chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. On April 1, 1914, Lawrence sent a letter to every Illinois chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution announcing a contest to design an Illinois state flag, with the winner receiving a prize of $25. Thirty - five designs were submitted in response to this contest. The contest was judged by a panel chaired by Lewis Stevenson, Illinois Secretary of State. They selected the design of Lucy Derwent. The flag became the official state banner on July 6, 1915, following its passage in the Illinois State House and Senate. Governor Edward F. Dunne did not sign the bill, but he did not veto it. 1969 alterations In the 1960s, Chief Petty Officer Bruce McDaniel petitioned to have the name of the state added to the flag. He noted that many of the people he served with during the Vietnam War did not recognize the banner. Governor Richard B. Ogilvie signed the addition to the flag into law on September 17, 1969, and the new flag was designed by Mrs. Sanford Hutchinson and became the official flag on July 1, 1970. Illinois centennial design Illinois Centennial flag by Wallace Rice For Illinois 's first 100 years of statehood in 1918, Wallace Rice, who designed Chicago 's flag, designed a centennial flag for the state. It had three horizontal bands of equal width alternating white, blue, white. It was charged with 21 stars along the edge of the hoist. There were 10 blue stars in the upper white band and 10 in the lower white band, representing the 10 northern and 10 southern states at the time of Illinois ' statehood in 1818. The center blue band had one large, white star for the state of Illinois itself. Government seals of Illinois Seal of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority See also Illinois portal Illinois Centennial half dollar State of Illinois Symbols of Illinois References Jump up ^ `` Seal of the State of Illinois ''. CyberDrive Illinois. CyberDrive Illinois. February 9, 1996. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2012. Jump up ^ Bartlett, Mabel Lane. `` Illinois : know your state : ( a text workbook ) ''. Illinois University Press. Archived from the original on 2016 - 09 - 27 -- via Internet Archive. ^ Jump up to : Office of the Illinois Secretary of State ( 2007 - 03 - 31 ). `` Illinois Handbook of Government : 2007 - 2008 '' ( PDF ). p. 134. Secretary of State of Illinois. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2007 - 12 - 03. Retrieved 2007 - 09 - 14. Jump up ^ Bartlett, Mabel Lane. `` Illinois : know your state : ( a text workbook ) ''. Illinois University Press. Archived from the original on 2016 - 09 - 27 -- via Internet Archive. ^ Jump up to : `` Park Lawrence, Mother of the Illinois Flag ''. www.thezephyr.com. Archived from the original on 2012 - 03 - 10. Jump up ^ Office of the Illinois Secretary of State ( 2007 - 03 - 31 ). `` Illinois Handbook of Government : 2007 - 2008 '' ( PDF ). p. 135. Secretary of State of Illinois. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2007 - 12 - 03. Retrieved 2007 - 09 - 14. Jump up ^ Illinois.gov - Illinois Facts - Official State Flag Archived 2010 - 06 - 28 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Illinois Anniversary Flags ( U.S. ) ''. www.crwflags.com. Archived from the original on 2012 - 10 - 19. External links The Great Seal of the State of Illinois Illinois State Flag Flags of the U.S. states, federal district, and other political divisions States Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Federal district Washington, D.C. Insular areas American Samoa Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands Outlying Islands Johnson Atoll Midway Atoll Navassa Island Palmyra Atoll Wake Island Historic CSA Cuba Philippines ( Commonwealth ) California Republic Panama Canal Zone Texas ( Republic ) TTPI USCA Ryukyu Islands Vermont Republic West Florida ( Republic ) Book Portal State seals of the United States States Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Great Seal of the United States Federal district Washington, D.C. Insular areas American Samoa Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands State of Illinois Springfield ( capital ) Topics Index Buildings and structures Census areas Communications Culture Delegations Earthquakes Economy Education Energy Environment Geography Government Health History Languages Law Music People Politics Portal Protected areas Society Sports Tourism Transportation Windmills Seal of Illinois Regions American Bottom Central Illinois Champaign -- Urbana metropolitan area Chicago metropolitan area Collar counties Corn Belt Driftless Area Forgottonia Fox Valley Illinois - Indiana - Kentucky tri-state area Metro East Metro Lakeland Mississippi Alluvial Plain North Shore Northern Illinois Northwestern Illinois Peoria metropolitan area Quad Cities River Bend Rockford metropolitan area Southern Illinois Streatorland Wabash Valley Cities, towns and villages Alton / Granite City / Edwardsville Arlington Heights / Palatine Aurora / Naperville / Oswego / Plainfield Bartlett / Hanover Park / Streamwood Belleville / East St. Louis / Collinsville / O'Fallon Berwyn / Cicero Bloomington / Normal Bolingbrook / Romeoville Buffalo Grove / Wheeling Calumet City Canton Carbondale Carol Stream / Glendale Heights Centralia Champaign / Urbana Charleston / Mattoon Chicago Chicago Heights Crystal Lake / Algonquin Danville Decatur DeKalb / Sycamore Des Plaines / Mount Prospect / Park Ridge Dixon Downers Grove / Woodridge Effingham Elgin / Carpentersville Elmhurst / Lombard / Addison Evanston / Skokie Freeport Galesburg Glenview / Northbrook Harrisburg Jacksonville Joliet Kankakee / Bradley / Bourbonnais Lincoln Macomb Marion / Herrin Moline / East Moline / Rock Island Mount Vernon Mundelein Oak Lawn Oak Park Orland Park / Tinley Park Ottawa / Streator / LaSalle / Peru Peoria / Pekin / East Peoria / Morton / Washington Pontiac Quincy Rochelle Rockford / Belvidere / Machesney Park / Loves Park St. Charles Schaumburg / Hoffman Estates / Elk Grove Village Springfield Sterling / Rock Falls Taylorville Waukegan / North Chicago / Gurnee Wheaton Counties Adams Alexander Bond Boone Brown Bureau Calhoun Carroll Cass Champaign Christian Clark Clay Clinton Coles Cook Crawford Cumberland DeKalb DeWitt Douglas DuPage Edgar Edwards Effingham Fayette Ford Franklin Fulton Gallatin Greene Grundy Hamilton Hancock Hardin Henderson Henry Iroquois Jackson Jasper Jefferson Jersey Jo Daviess Johnson Kane Kankakee Kendall Knox LaSalle Lake Lawrence Lee Livingston Logan Macon Macoupin Madison Marion Marshall Mason Massac McDonough McHenry McLean Menard Mercer Monroe Montgomery Morgan Moultrie Ogle Peoria Perry Piatt Pike Pope Pulaski Putnam Randolph Richland Rock Island Saline Sangamon Schuyler Scott Shelby St. Clair Stark Stephenson Tazewell Union Vermilion Wabash Warren Washington Wayne White Whiteside Will Williamson Winnebago Woodford Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flag_and_seal_of_Illinois&oldid=846502362 '' Categories : Coats of arms with eagles Coats of arms with olive branches Coats of arms with sunrays Coats of arms with suns Symbols of Illinois United States state flags United States state seals Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages Беларуская Català Dansk Deutsch Español Esperanto Euskara Français 한국어 Italiano עברית Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Simple English Svenska Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 15 more Edit links This page was last edited on 19 June 2018, at 04 : 43 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what was added to the illinois state flag in 1969
Answer: the name of the state