The Time Has Come to Choose Rockford’s Official Flag

For months a group of Rockfordians have been collecting designs in their quest to create Rockford's first official city flag.

The mission behind the movement is simple, but important: to give this city something to rally behind and to instill a sense of pride.

On Thursday the judging committee for the Rockford City Flag Campaign chose their three finalists, and it is now up to us to decide which one wins.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit underwhelmed when I first saw those designs, but then I remembered that an effective city flag needs to simply illustrate powerful symbolism. After reading the symbolization provided by each design's creator, I'm having a hard time choosing a favorite.

Design 1: "The green tree symbolizes our city’s nickname ‘the Forest City,’ with the sun rising behind it symbolizing optimism and progress in our city, with the blue symbolizing the Rock River flowing through the city. "

Design 2: "The 3 trees and green background symbolize the Forest City and the two founding communities on the banks of the Rock River that eventually formed Rockford. The screw in the middle represents the hardwork of our community and symbolizes the progress we make when we come together as one. It also pays homage to our manufacturing history as ‘the Screw City’. The three shapes together also pay homage to the numerical representation of the city, 815. The ‘V’ formed in the negative space stands for the Valley of the Rock River."

Design 3: The screw nestled in the banks of the Rock River represents Rockford’s industrial roots as well as the location it originated. The abstract tree/arrow above the screw represents Rockford’s economic growth and progress, the sun represents Rockford’s bright future and vitality, the tree/arrow points north for Rockford’s northern location in Illinois. Blue is used to represent the Rock River, green represents Forest City, orange represents optimism, white represents unity.

So, which one is your favorite; vote now at rockfordflag.com. The winner will be revealed when Rockford's first official city flag is unveiled on 815 Day, August 15. 2018.