Morris Redskins' Racist Mascot Finally Being Retired: Voting Underway On 3 New Names For High School

MORRIS, IL — The Morris High School Redskins, one of the last remaining racist school mascots in the state of Illinois, is finally going away after more than a decade of debate. There were several news stories reported four years ago announcing that the Redskins mascot would be going away. ABC-Channel 7 in Chicago reported back in January 2022— four years ago — the Morris School Board voted 6 to 1 in favor of changing the Morris mascot name.

This week, a number of news radio stations in the area are reporting that the Morris Community High School District 101 Board of Education is now in the process of naming a new high school mascot. An online survey indicated that students and employees were asked to narrow down a list of six finalists that the school board selected from those submitted in the last survey.

There were 546 votes cast. The results were Warriors, 52 percent, Mustangs, 24 percent, Mallards 11 percent, Falcons 7 percent, Mariners 4 percent and Mules 2 percent.

The Morris School Board is now asking people to vote on the top three choices. People are asked to make their response by 3 p.m. on Friday, Jan 30.

Morris radio station WCSJ FM 103.1 reported earlier this month that Morris School Superintendent Craig Ortiz indicated that Morris School Board could vote on their new high school mascot at a board meeting in February.

According to the school district website, Morris High School District 101 Superintendent Ortiz has a long history with MCHS, having graduated from here in 1991 and having taught math here for 23 years before becoming superintendent in 2019.