Illinois Millennial Saves the American Flag

Guest post by Ben Evans

Belleville, Illinois seems like a normal middle American community outside of St. Louis, but the city garnered some controversy late last week when the Mayor & Police Chief conspired to remove the American flag from the uniforms of police officers. Allegedly, the concern was that the public might confuse security guards (who also wear the flag on their uniforms) with police officers.

City Clerk Dallas Cook (pictured above), a Millennial upstart with no patience for backroom politics, got wind of the scheme, and immediately jumped to action. He got the word out to Belleville citizens, and called for a “Rally to Save the American Flag”: “If you agree with me that the American flag, a symbol of peace, hope and security, should remain on Belleville police uniforms, there are two ways that you can make your voice heard on Monday, July 20: 1) attend our rally & 2) attend the city council meeting immediately after.”

Within two hours of Cook’s announcement on Facebook, the Mayor & Police Chief reversed course, and decided to keep the flag on police uniforms. The citizens of Belleville rallied Monday, anyway. Cook stated: “We may have saved the flag in our community, but their is a movement afoot to remove symbols of freedom like the American flag from other communities in Illinois, and across the country. We have to put our foot down somewhere, and I hope this will inspire others to defend our flag.”