The background of my flag is comprised of eight blue stripes. Each stripe represents a major body of water that influences the daily life of the people of Cook County, from Lake Michigan the Skokie Lagoons. In the center of my flag is a large gold star, representative of the city of Chicago. Chicago is often regarded as the political, economic, and social focal point of Cook County, so I thought it should be treated as such. Behind the star lies the Chicago skyline, a view known all over the world. Surrounding the Chicago star is a ring of 38 smaller gold stars, representative of all other townships in Cook County. On either side of the circle is the name of our beloved county. Both the water and land of our county are represented and brought together in this design.