Illinois Centennial Flag

The Illinois Centennial Flag was created in 1918 by Wallace Rice to mark the first hundred years of Illinois statehood. Its design uses three equal horizontal bands of white, blue, and white, with twenty-one stars representing Illinois as the 21st state admitted to the Union. Ten blue stars in the upper white band and ten in the lower white band refer to the ten northern and ten southern states in the Union when Illinois was admitted, while the large white star in the blue band represents Illinois itself. The flag was used during the 1918 centennial celebrations and later influenced decorative work in the Illinois State Capitol.