Illinois laws govern community flag displays
Q. Our association has adopted very strict rules regarding the display of flags by owners. Are there any Illinois laws on this issue?
A. Yes. The legal authority of a community association to limit the display of flags is specifically governed by Section 18.6 of the Illinois Condominium Property Act and Section 1-70 of the Illinois Common Interest Community Association Act. A board of either a condominium or common interest community association may not unreasonably prohibit the display of the American flag or of a military flag, or both, or the installation of a flagpole, on or within the limited common areas and facilities of a unit owner or on the immediately adjacent exterior of the building in which the unit of a unit owner is located. This applies regardless of any provision in the declaration, bylaws, rules, regulations, or agreements or other instruments of a condominium association, a master association or a common interest community association.
The American flag permitted to be displayed is defined in Chapter 1 of Title 4 of the U.S. Code. It states that “The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; and the union of the flag shall be forty-eight stars, white in a blue field.” The code further states that “(o) n the admission of a new State into the Union one star shall be added to the union of the flag.” Hence, there are 50 stars on the American flag.
“Military flag” means a flag of any branch of the U.S. armed forces or the Illinois National Guard made of fabric, cloth, or paper displayed from a staff or flagpole or in a window, but “military flag” does not include a depiction or emblem of a military flag made of lights, paint, roofing, siding, paving materials, flora, or balloons, or any other similar building, landscaping, or decorative component.
Nonetheless, a board may adopt reasonable rules and regulations, consistent with the United States Code, regarding the placement and manner of display of the American flag, and of a military flag, and regarding the location and size of flagpoles.
Q. I am a member of a small condominium association and a candidate for the board. The association’s annual meeting to elect board members is coming up soon. In connection with the annual meeting and election, I made a written request to the board for the names, addresses, and weighted vote of each unit owner entitled to vote at the annual election meeting. My written request stated that I wanted the information so I can solicit proxies from other owners. The board responded that they have 30 days to provide me with the information, even though our election is coming up in less than 30 days! Is the board correct here?
A. The board is not correct. The board is probably confused with the prior language of Section 19(a) (7) of the Illinois Condominium Property Act that used to require the board to provide this type of information within 30 days of an owner’s proper, written request. However, Section 19 of the Condominium Act was amended back in 2024 to reduce the required response time from 30 days to 10 business days.
Moreover, when it involves an annual election, Section 18.2(b)(i) of the Illinois Condominium Property Act states that any owner is entitled to the names, addresses, and weighted vote of each unit owner entitled to vote at each meeting to elect members of the board of managers, and that the information must be provided by the association within 10 calendar days of receipt of the request. Therefore, your board is legally required to provide this information even sooner.
• Matthew Moodhe is an attorney with Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit in the Chicago suburbs. Send questions for the column to him at condotalk@ksnlaw.com. The firm provides legal service to condominium, townhouse, homeowner associations and housing cooperatives. This column is not a substitute for consultation with legal counsel.