Colors of Cook County

The base color of the flag is white to symbolize the openness and understanding that Cook County has. Cook County is well known for its progressive attitude that I think allows a lot of openness to multiple diversities that reside in our home. White can also be used to symbolize the start of a new beginning on a more personal level, as this is the start of a new beginning with a new flag.


The light blue is used to pay homage to Chicago, as it is a very big part of Cook County culture. This is also why the light blue has the same stripes that the Chicago flag so famously has.


The dark blue and greens are in a circle that wraps around Cook County itself; Cook County is surrounded by nature. I used green to represent the forest preserves and darker blue to represent the ocean.


Gold is used to pay homage to our past. The past flag and the past of our history. The points are also a part of our past, so it is gold. There is 17 points, these points represent the 17 board members. The gold band is to represent the history that holds Cook County together, and that is why it is wrapped around the middle of the flag. Finally, Cook County itself is gold, as we are our history.

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.

Maeve Clifford

Maeve Clifford

she/her/hers

1.  How does the flag you designed represent who you are and what you care about? 
The flag to me represents my love for the state of Illinois. It shows how I think we can better the state by being more environmentally conscious and being more friendly to others that live in this state too.

2.  Why did you decide to join the Flag 2021 competition?
My high school teacher showed us the contest and gave us the assignment of creating the new Cook County Flag. I was really excited when she told us about this contest because I thought it would be such a fun experience to be apart of no matter if my flag was chosen or not.

 3.  What did you learn about Cook County that surprised you?
What surprised me was how many districts there actually are in Cook County.

 4. Tell us a short story about your collaboration with your flag mentor/partner(s).
My flag mentor was Jonathan Meitus and my partner was Noami Balderas. Noami and I would FaceTime a day or two before our Zoom call with Jonathan to put out ideas to help combine our two flags together. Each week we would go on a Zoom call and throughout ideas to make the flag the best it can be. I really enjoyed my time working with Jonathan and Noami and could not have asked for a better group.

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