Illinois Governor Orders Flags Half-Staff to Honor Firefighter

There will be several days in the upcoming week that you'll notice flags in Illinois have been lowered, yet they remain at full staff just across the state border in Wisconsin.

U.S. Flags Lowered on May 15 for Peace Officers Day

All U.S. and Illinois state flags will be at half-staff tomorrow (5/15) after Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker ordered they be lowered from sunset to sundown in honor of Peace Officers Memorial Day.

RELATED: U.S. Flags in Rockford are at Half-Staff Under Governor Order

Peace Officers Day always falls during Police Officers Week and is used to salute "local, state, and federal law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice or been injured in the line of duty."

Half-Staff vs. Half-Mast?

According to USHistory.org, the term half-staff is used over land, and while they've been used interchangeably, half-mast is more commonly used when lowering the flag at sea.

READ MORE: Why Is This Illinois Home Flying a U.S. Flag Upside Down?

The Illinois Flag Display Act gives Governor Pritzker the power to order flags to be lowered to half-staff for "every Illinois member of the armed forces, police force, fire service and other groups covered by the Act killed in the line of duty."

Flags Lowered Beginning May 22 for Fallen Firefighter

Governor J.B. Pritzker has notified the Illinois Department of Central Management Services that all U.S. and state flags be at half-staff.

Flags will be lowered from sunrise on Wednesday, May 22 until sunset on Friday, May 24 to honor the life of 27-year-old Firefighter Recruit Cristian Medrano who died on Friday, April 12 while in the line of duty, according to the press release.