County Stars

About the County Stars Flag

The name of the flag is heavily inspired by the new meanings behind the new star designs that
are the main focus of the redesign. The stars are an important part of Cook County as they
represent a lot of the major community aspects that Cook County contains, such as the minor
stars on the flag representing the six regions of Cook County and the major star representing
the 800 government units; both of these symbols are the main building foundations that make
Cook County along with the stars on the actual flag being the main element of design.

Eight Point Star – The eight point star symbolizes the 800 government units that reside inside Cook County’s boundaries. These are of course a main part of the communities in Cook County as with any
community and was a deserving spot for the main centerpiece of the flag that represents Cook
County. The government units bring balance to Cook County, so it would be fitting to have that
be in the middle, bringing balance to the other aspects of design on the flag and their symbols.\

Six Point Stars – The six stars represent the six regions of Cook County. The six points on the
stars are for police, firefighters, justice system, health care, forest preserve, and commerce.
These six points are important factors to help keep Cook County safe and running.

Outer and Inner Circle – Both circles are a homage to the original flag with a revisioned design
focused towards simplicity. This will make the flag more recognizable even when further away
and give it better notability.

Outer Lines – The outer lines are a reference to the Chicago flag, which is an important part of Cook County and Cook County’s image.

Inner Line – The band that runs through the middle of the flag is used as a unifying aspect, as it unifies the separate designs, the circles and other lines, and brings it all together; such as unifying all the
separate aspects of Cook County into the place that it is and its unique history and current
progression.

Combination of the Lines – Both the combination of the outer lines and the inner lines creates a subtle road-like design. The design nods towards two very important roads to Cook County, the US route 6 and State Line Road. These roads are both important to the development of Cook County during the start of
development.

White Background – The white offers a clean and clutter-free design to the flag that helps with smaller prints of the flag and further distance recognition.

Darker and Lighter Green – Both greens represent the Forest Preserves of Cook County, bringing in the darker and lighter shades of green that are used to represent the forest preserves and nature in general when it comes to color language in the flag design.

Gold – The gold band in the flag design is used as a unifying symbol in the overall design, the specific
color not only brings the design together nicely but gives the design meanings of happiness and optimism. It lends itself to a hopeful future that is wanted with any community when representing itself and its community goals.

Baby Blue – The blue in the outer line is also a reference to the Chicago flag, which uses blue to represent
Lake Michigan and the north branch of the Chicago River, along with the south branch of the river and the great canal.