Illinois flies flags December 3 for statehood

December 3, 2018

December 3 is the anniversary of the day Illnois was admitted to the union in 1818, the 21st state.

Under the U.S. flag Code, Americans should fly their U.S. flags on the statehood day of their state.

You flying ’em, Illinois?  If you’re in this area, you should be!

A U.S. flag flies in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago, some time between 1980 and 2006. Part of Carol Highsmith's collection of American photographs at the Library of Congress.

A U.S. flag flies in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago, some time between 1980 and 2006. Part of Carol Highsmith’s collection of American photographs at the Library of Congress.

At the American Memory site at the Library of Congress, we get a good, brief dose of the events leading to statehood.

Illinoisans are big on flag flying. "Chicago (north), Illinois. Mrs. Alice Burns, who sings on the local radio station, leading the singing of the national anthem at a neighborhood flag dedication ceremony." Flag dedication ceremony honoring people serving in the military from that block, 1942. Library of Congress image. Jack Delano, photographer, November 1942.

Illinoisans are big on flag flying. “Chicago (north), Illinois. Mrs. Alice Burns, who sings on the local radio station, leading the singing of the national anthem at a neighborhood flag dedication ceremony.” Flag dedication ceremony honoring people serving in the military from that block, 1942. Library of Congress image. Jack Delano, photographer, November 1942.

Next date for flying U.S. flags is a two-fer, December 7, for Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, and for Delaware’s statehood. Delaware was the first colony to ratify the Constitution on that December day in 1787.