Seeking to highlight a stronger sense of unity and shared community identity, Skokie is set to adopt a new official flag, a long-term effort in an area where students come from families that speak at least 70 different languages at home, according to Niles Township High School District 219.
The effort at unity comes on the heels of two tense encounters over the April 18-19 weekend, with Skokie police actively investigating two incidents in which preteens or early youth approached other groups of youth and “made comments questioning their national origin or religious identity,” according to a police news release.
Out of 79 total flag design submissions, the flag panel, composed of several volunteer local artists and graphic designers, in addition to Village communications staff, narrowed the selection to three finalist designs to be shared with the community for public input.
And the nearly 800 survey responses have spoken.
The winning design, “Skokie Spirit,” by graphic designer and front-end developer Buddy Boor, illustrates the popular flame originally depicted in Joe Folise’s 1978 stained glass at Village Hall. The design is also featured on the new village seal.
As reiterated by trustees and Village Community Engagement Director Patrick Deignan at the April 20 Board meeting, the selected design aspires to reflect Skokie’s diverse history, values and individuality in a clear and distinctive way.
The new flag features a yellow and orange flame set against the backdrop of a green field, honoring the area’s Potawatomi people, traditionally known as the “Keepers of the Fire and Flame,” who originally conceived the village’s namesake of “wabskoki,” meaning marsh or swamp.
The Potawatomi are widely considered the earliest inhabitants of the region.
“The flame serves as a beacon for all people, regardless of color, creed, culture or background,” Deignan said.
And the colors reinforce these principles, he added. “The yellow and orange reflect Skokie’s warmth, camaraderie and energy, and the green represents the land’s heritage of marsh, forest, prairie and parkland.”
Following the codification of the new village seal last March, staff began a phased initiative to update a variety of their materials that featured older designs, one of which included the community’s flag, a “highly visible” attribute of Skokie, officials said.
After commencing the quest for a new design in May 2025, officials invited residents of all ages to contribute their own original ideas for what the new symbol should be, so long as it embodied the North American Vexillological Association’s (NAVA) design criteria for selection:
- Simplicity: The flag’s design should be so simple that it can be drawn from a child’s memory.
- Incorporates meaningful symbolism: The images, colors or patterns included in the flag should relate to what it is attempting to symbolize.
- Two or three basic colors: No more than three colors included on the flag, which should contrast one another and come from a standard color set.
- No lettering: Do not use writing, letters or the organization’s seal.
- Be distinctive or related: Avoid duplicating other designs by similar regions, use similarities in other flags only to show connections.
Using these NAVA design principles, the flag panel narrowed the 79 submissions by the public to a preferred seven, sharing them with several recognized flag artists who could provide feedback on the designs, guidance for future refinements and other suggestions.
The seven flag designers selected were invited to share up to three additional renderings for consideration by the panel, and a final three, Skokie Spirit by Buddy Boor, Skokie Spirit by Richa Cordero and Prairie Flame by Jasmine Dela Luna and Jeff Meyer, were chosen for a public vote.
“The first iteration of this [design] was way more complicated, way more looking like stained glass, [and] a crazy background, so the first round of NAVA feedback we got was just simplify, simplify, simplify,” Boor relayed to trustees at the meeting.
“So we peeled back colors…we peeled back a couple of extra shapes, pulled lines out, and so to arrive at something this clean, even though it looks like maybe it was the first iteration, (it) took a lot of feedback and rounds of removal, actually,” Boor added.
Trustee Gail Schechter, responding to Boor, added that the design looked like a “bird wing.”
“I definitely see movement as I look at it, which is another important statement about our community,” Mayor Ann Tennes said.
“I think it looks fantastic,” Trustee Jim Iverson told Boor. “Given what’s been happening just this weekend and back in, the other incidents in Shawnee Park and elsewhere, I think it’s perfect that you’re demonstrating this, our values,” he said.
The discussion of unity comes just a day after Skokie officials put out a public statement acknowledging two separate incidents involving antisemitic language being directed towards early teen and pre-teen youth at public parks over the weekend.
In both incidents, youth reported being confronted with antisemitic language and comments questioning their “natural origin or religious identity.” Skokie police are continuing to investigate.
The incidents follow a similar confrontation, later classified as a “hate crime” by the Skokie Police Department, on Oct. 7, 2025, on the first day of Sukkot, a Jewish holiday, at Shawnee Park in Skokie.
“This must end,” Mayor Tennes urged the public at the start of the Board meeting.
“Everyone in Skokie deserves to feel safe, respected and supported…to be clear, this is not thoughts and prayers. Our community must redouble our efforts. We must all get to work to understand, educate, set an example and be upstanders,” she said.
In response to ongoing hostility directed towards the Jewish community, the village announced it planned to host a community gathering on April 21 at 5 p.m. at Central Park to reinforce its shared commitment to respect and inclusion.
Following the final design presentation, trustees unanimously approved the selected “Skokie Spirit,” which will go back to the Village’s corporation counsel to draft an ordinance necessary for official adoption of the flag in the coming weeks.
An update to village code to describe the new flag’s appearance will also be necessary, Deignan said.
