Why are flags at half-staff in Illinois? Here’s Gov. Pritzker’s order

Illinois residents likely noticed that flags were lowered to half-staff on Tuesday, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the order was made to honor a civil rights icon.

Rev. Jesse Jackson passed away this week at the age of 84, and Pritzker ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff to honor his legacy.

“He broke down barriers, inspired generations, and kept hope alive,” Pritzker said. “Our state, nation and world are better due to his years of service.”

It’s unclear how long flags will be lowered in Jackson’s honor, with funeral arrangements still pending.

Under provisions of the Illinois Flag Display Act, the flag must be displayed at half-staff at all public buildings, and private citizens and businesses are also asked to lower their flags.

Jackson died Tuesday after a series of health battles in recent years, with the civil rights leader being diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy last April.

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1941, Jesse Louis Jackson went on to gain national attention for his work in promoting civil rights, working with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Originally a high school athlete, Jackson received a football scholarship to the University of Illinois, but returned home after only a year. According to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Jackson later transferred to North Carolina A&T State University and graduated in 1964. 

In 1966, at the age of 25, Jackson returned to study at the Chicago Theological Seminary. He soon became a fixture on the religious and political scenes in the city, sometimes clashing with leaders like former Mayors Richard J. Daley and Jane Byrne and often working with local groups on education programs and anti-violence campaigns.

He continued to back a variety of political causes, pushing for universal health care, additional funding for civil rights law enforcement, and increasing business investment in underserved communities, according to his official biography.

In 1971, Jackson helped to found the international human and civil rights organization Rainbow PUSH Coalition, based on Chicago’s South Side.

Prior to that, he was appointed by King to direct the Operation Breadbasket program.

Ultimately, Jackson would launch multiple bids for president, competing in the 1984 Democratic primaries and then winning 11 primaries in 1988 before ultimately losing out on the nomination to Michael Dukakis.

Jackson became known worldwide as a fierce advocate for Black students to excel in school, pushing educational programs and for reforms across the country. He also advocated for criminal justice reform, pushing for legislation cracking down on illegal drugs and seeking strategies to reduce Black-on-Black crime. He went on to receive dozens of honorary degrees and spoke to audiences around the world.

Jackson was also known to support Palestinian rights, and fought apartheid in South Africa, repeatedly pushing for the release of Nelson Mandela in the 1980s. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, by former President Bill Clinton in 2000.