Cook County

"I Will"
Adopted	June 14, 2022; 22 months ago (2022-06-14)
Designed by	Andrew Duffy
Adopted	June 13, 1961 (1961-06-13)
Relinquished	June 14, 2022 (2022-06-14)

The flag of Cook County, or the "I Will" flag, consists of a light blue pall with a green border on a field of white. Six red stars with seven points each sit in a circle at the flag's hoist side.

Cook County is the largest county in Illinois by population. The current flag was adopted on Flag Day, 2022 and was designed by Andrew Duffy, a student at Glenbrook South High School, with the guidance of graphic designer Martin Burciaga from the Cook County Bureau of Administration.^[1]

Symbolism

The blue pall represents the importance of water to Cook County. The top stripe represents the North Shore Channel, the Skokie River and Lagoons, the Des Plaines River, and the North Branch of the Chicago River. The bottom stripe represents the Grand Calumet River, the Illinois River, Salt Creek, and the South Branch of the Chicago River. The central stripe indicates the main stem of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. The meeting of the three points of the Y shape mimics the merging of these bodies of water at Wolf Point, and the Y shape itself mirrors the shape found in the municipal device of Chicago. The green stripes outside the blue pall represent nature and the Cook County Forest Preserves.^[2]

The white background was chosen to represent innovation and commerce.^[2]

The red color of the stars represents social change. The six stars represent foundational moments in the history of Cook County:

• the founding of Cook County in 1831
• the founding of Stroger and Provident Hospitals
• the founding of the Cook County Department of Public Health
• the founding of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County
• the founding of the Arthur J. Audy Home for justice-system involved youth
• local partnerships, as represented by the circle of stars hearkening back to the previous flag's circle of stars

The seven points on each star represent the regions of Cook County: North, Northwest, West, Southwest, South, the City of Chicago, and the Forest Preserve District.

History

The original flag of Cook County was adopted in 1961 and was first flown on June 13 of that year.^[3] The flag was adopted at the urging of Daniel Ryan, president of the Cook County Board.^[4] The design of that flag was based on the preexisting seal of Cook County. The seal was based on a design by Frank Wenderski, a student at Mather High School. Clarence C. Higgins, a cartographer and designer with the county's highway department finalized the design, which consisted on a map of Cook County displaying township boundaries, a scroll bearing the words "January 1831", the date of Cook Counties incorporation, and a ring with 39 stars representing the 38 townships of Cook County, plus the City of Chicago. The seal was adopted in 1960. The flag consists of the seal of Cook County on a white background with the words "Cook County" added in red lettering.^[4] At the time the flag was adopted, it was believed to be the first county flag in the United States.^[5]

Cook County commissioner Scott Britton, a member of the North American Vexillological Association, called for replacing the original flag in 2019 and proposed a competition among high school students to design the new flag.^[6] The county received 297 submissions, which were narrowed down to 23 semi-finalists. The semi-finalists were paired with mentors to refine their designs. In March 2022, six finalists were selected.^[7] The current flag, designed by student Andrew Duffy, was approved on June 14, 2022 (Flag Day), with final action on the resolution occurring on June 16, 2002.^[8]