Glen Ellyn family paints American flag on lawn, pens Declaration of Independence on driveway

GLEN ELLYN, Ill. (WLS) -- West suburban Glen Ellyn celebrated the Fourth of July with a patriotic decorating contest after canceling its annual fireworks display due to coronavirus.

"If you drive up and down the streets of Glen Ellyn, you really see this sense of patriotism," Glen Ellyn Police Chief Philip Norton said. "That is really what the Fourth of July is all about."

The Clifford family showed off their winning decorations, including a flag on their front lawn that they painted by hand and the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence handwritten on the driveway.

Peter Clifford said "a little bit of freehand, a little bit of liquid courage and a lot of paint" went into his masterpiece. His wife Megan scraped through three sticks of chalk to write out those truths we hold to be self-evident.

"And of course Monday it rained," she said. "And so I was out here early this morning rewriting it all."

Chief Norton, who also serves as the Fourth of July committee chairman, said more than 45 people submitted entries as the community embraced the spirit of Independence Day - even amid a pandemic.