Colors: Blue, orange, and yellow
Meanings/Symbolism: The blue represents the waters of the county—Lake Michigan, the Chicago River, etc. The yellow represents the sun shining over the county. The 6 stars and the 6 points on the stars stand for the 6 regions of the county (so, the sun shining equally over the 6 regions of the county). The orange stripes stand for the bridges over the waters in the county, e.g., the many bridges downtown going over the Chicago River. The 4 blue stripes and the 3 orange stripes together stand for Cook County being a diverse area that has people from all of the 7 continents (including, in the case of Antarctica, the many scientists in the county who have worked and lived there temporarily for their research).
Idealistically, blue stands for peace and calm. Orange stands for connection. The yellow on the 6-pointed stars stand for hope and happiness, as well as hard work and education.