Springfield, Illinois

Springfield
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Flag of Springfield, Illinois
Designer	Vachel Lindsay
Adopted	October 22, 1917
Score in 2004 NAVA survey	4.89/10 (41 of 150)
Variant flag of Springfield
Wikipedia article
Flags of the World article

The flag of Springfield, Illinois, is the lawful flag of the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois, Springfield. Its background is "Old Glory blue". The flag is emblazoned with a circle of 20 small, white stars, all pointed upward; the circle is offset, slightly, to the left of the flag. Those stars encircle a large, white-bordered "Old Glory red" star, also pointed upward. The center star is described as two stars, one atop the other, in the Springfield, Illinois Code of Ordinances. In the past, the flag has the words 'SPRINGFIELD ILLINOIS' in yellow, across its bottom; now photographs show no lettering on the flag, and governmental buildings have been seen sporting a version absent text.

Symbolism

The 20 white stars represent the number of states in the Union before Illinois was admitted in 1818. The large red star represents Springfield as the capital of Illinois, the 21st state.

Dimensions

In the case of hand-held or carried flags the proportions are 2:3, two units in height to every three in breadth. When the Springfield flag is flown on a flagpole, its aspect ratio should be 1:2, unless the U.S. government prescribes differing dimensions for the United States flag, in which case the Springfield flag would defer to those dimensions. When the flag is displayed from windows or over the city streets it is allowed to be notched or pointed.

History

The flag was designed in a contest conceived by Springfield resident and famed poet Vachel Lindsay. The contest was sponsored by the Springfield Art Association and its winner was S.T. Wallace. The Springfield city council adopted the flag design on October 22, 1917, and it was first displayed on November 8, 1917. Indeed, the Springfield Code of Ordinances makes no stipulation for the lettering which appears on the current flag.

Instead, it describes a "pennant," similar in description to the flag. The pennant is described as containing the same elements and proportions as the flag, with the addition of the words. In the code the flag and pennant are described as two separate entities.

As of 2020, however, buildings such as the Municipality building and city library have been spotted sporting a flag with the text absent.