Campaign for new Naperville flag turns to online votes
A campaign to design a new Naperville city flag drew the good, the bad and the ugly, but online voting is about to begin to choose the best.
Designers from Naperville, the region and the world submitted 139 options between March and Aug. 1, which far exceeded the expectations of the Neuqua Valley High School students behind the Campaign for a Better Naperville Flag.
With so many options, campaign organizers are soon to leave the decision of which design best represents the city up to the public. Online voting is set to begin Tuesday at napervilleflag.org.
"We're now placing it in the hands of individuals such as yourselves," Andy Wang, director of technology for the campaign, told Naperville City Council members last week.
After hearing a recorded talk by design expert Roman Mars, the students decided Naperville's municipal flag - with the city seal atop a blue square on a white banner also featuring the word "Naperville" - could be better. So they're planning to unveil a new option that can be used beyond city hall as a banner to unite and represent the community.
"We not only want, but deserve, a flag that is an accurate representation of the diverse and vibrant community that is Naperville today," said Connor Tenny, executive director of the campaign.
Council members and other community leaders voted first to help narrow the field to 12 finalists.
"Some of them were really simple and they were just adorable and I think they would be a wonderful representation for the city of Naperville," council member Patty Gustin said. "Every great city deserves a great flag."
Once voters choose the winner, the new flag will be introduced during the TEDx Naperville speakers conference on Nov. 4.