How long will Illinois flags remain at half-staff? A brief background on lowering the flag
Flags are flying at half-staff across the nation and here in Illinois, and they won’t be raised any time soon.
As of Dec. 30, the lowered flag is a national observance following the death of former President Jimmy Carter, who died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. He is America’s longest-lived president.
It is an American tradition to fly flags at half-staff for 30 days after a president or former president dies. The standard was established in the Federal Register in 1954 by President Dwight Eisenhower.
President Joe Biden’s statement announcing the death of the 39th president issues a flag directive for 30 days in accordance with that tradition. Additionally, Biden has designated Thursday, Jan. 9, as a national day of mourning.
“I call on the American people to assemble on that day in their respective places of worship, there to pay homage to the memory of President James Earl Carter, Jr.,” Biden stated in the proclamation. “I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us in this solemn observance.”
Carter served as U.S. president from 1977 to 1981, before losing his reelection bid to Republican Ronald Reagan. Though his presidency was marked by turbulence, afterward, he and his wife, Rosalynn, founded The Carter Center and lived a life of service through humanitarian work.
Carter will lie in state at The Capitol before a state funeral Jan. 9.
The directive to lower flags to half-staff across Illinois was issued Dec. 30 by Gov. JB Pritzker.
“President Jimmy Carter truly exemplified what it meant to live a life full of service. His towering legacy of compassion for others set a standard that will always be remembered,” Pritzker tweeted from his X account Dec. 29.
The late president was remembered Monday across Illinois, including in the metro-east, where he traveled Nov. 3, 1980, just days before he lost his reelection bid.
Because the flag directive lasts through Tuesday, Jan. 28, flags will be lowered during President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday, Jan. 20. The last time this occurred was in 1973, when the observation of former President Harry Truman’s death overlapped with former President Richard Nixon’s second inauguration.
Why are flags lowered in Illinois?
The status of flags in Illinois is regulated under the state’s Flag Display Act, which covers those displayed on public grounds, state and local government buildings, schools and more.
While the lowering of the American flag is typically ordered by the president, the governor can also lower the flag, the state flag and the flags of the armed forces to half-staff in Illinois under certain conditions, including for the death of a state resident killed in the line of duty while serving in a branch of the military or in emergency services.
When the governor lowers the flag to honor such state resident, those flags fly at half staff on the day of the deceased funeral and two days prior to the service, under the law.
The Illinois Flag Commission is currently in the process of opening public voting on a potential new state flag. In December, the commission released the 10 finalist designs.
The state also flies an honor and remember flag, to mark commitment to the U.S. armed forces. That flag flies on the follow days:
- Armed Forces Day, the third Sunday of May
- Memorial Day, the last Monday of May
- Flag Day, June 14
- Fourth of July, July 4
- National POW/MIA Recognition Day, the third Friday of September
- Gold Star Mother’s Day, the last Sunday of September
- Veterans Day, Nov. 11
- Upon the death of a military member who was a state resident
McClatchy reporter Karlee Van De Venter contributed to this report.
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