Editorial: New law helps ensure that individuals who deserve official mourning won't be overshadowed
When Gov. Pritzker ordered flags on government buildings returned to full staff last April, they had been kept at half-staff for more than a year.
In rescinding his original order, Gov. Pritzker seemed to recognize that the memorial to Illinoisans who have died from COVID-19 had lasted long enough. For many others, it was far too long.
Their concern is understandable, and the governor seems also to recognize that as he signed a new law this week limiting how long such displays can continue.
Not that it was wrong in the beginning to officially acknowledge and mourn the losses from a pandemic that continues to devastate lives in the state and throughout the country. Quite the contrary. The display was originally a fitting and touching symbol of our shared sorrow.
But it became something different as the COVID-19 crisis wore on, For one thing, it was another flashpoint in the controversy over government's response to the pandemic. Even more to the point, however, it also threatened to diminish the solemnity of the remembrance. Individuals or other events deserving special attention "were not fully recognized by this simple, yet poignant, honor due to the never-ending half-staff order," said James Schultz this week.
Schultz, a U.S. Army veteran, was a Vernon Hills village trustee when he first raised concerns about the issue in December 2020. He and others continued to press the case, and a bipartisan group of lawmakers - including Buffalo Grove Democrats Sen. Adrianne Johnson and Rep. Dan Didech - sponsored legislation to put restrictions on displaying the flag that comport with federal regulations.
Under the new law, the flag will be lowered in recognition of Memorial Day, the death of a government official, line-of-duty military deaths or other circumstances the governor deems fit, but no single event can be recognized for longer than 30 days.
"Because the lowering of the flags to half-staff is a more rare event, this honor is more easily recognized and in my estimation, appreciated," Schultz said.
Similarly, Johnson noted the poignancy of a gesture intended to honor "the lives of fallen soldiers, first responders and residents who spent their lives advocating for the values the flag represents" and said the law will send "the important message that Illinois respects the individuals who served our country through military or public service."
Unfortunately, state leaders may yet have occasion to make a symbolic expression of sympathy and remembrance for individuals or circumstances related to COVID-19. The new law will not prevent that, but it will help ensure that such a display - whether for COVID-19 or any other long-term circumstance - will not overshadow other situations deserving the honor.