HR0833 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0833 LRB103 40928 MST 73946 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Illinois has a rich and historic manufacturing legacy with the earliest documented manufacturer in Illinois identified as a buffalo skin tannery in 1702 at VaBache; and

WHEREAS, Centuries ago, people migrated to Illinois for natural resource abundance, an ability to transport products around the world, and agricultural wonders, unlocking the ability for manufacturing growth; and

WHEREAS, Illinois flourished and witnessed the dawn of manufacturing progress; and

WHEREAS, Today, Illinois manufacturers employ more than 650,000 workers and contribute the single largest share of the Illinois economy; and

WHEREAS, Illinois manufacturers have played a role in nearly every major event in our nation's history, including the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, the Space Race, and Industry 4.0; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Manufacturers' Association was founded in Chicago in 1893 and is the nation's oldest, and one of the largest, state manufacturing trade associations; and

WHEREAS, Illinois manufacturers use innovation and ingenuity to help envision and build the future; and

WHEREAS, Illinois manufacturers produce life-saving products, help feed the world, create products that transport people and product around the world and into space, power our homes and businesses, and help provide for our nation's defense; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Manufacturers' Association created an Illinois Manufacturing Hall of Fame to recognize people, products, and companies that have left an indelible mark on Illinois manufacturing; and

WHEREAS, The first class of inductees into the Illinois Manufacturing Hall of Fame includes:

(1) Linda McGill Boasmond, owner of the Cedar Concepts Corporation, the first and only African-American, woman-owned chemical company in the United States; she served as the second female and first Black chair in the history of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association and is a passionate advocate for engaging girls in STEM programs;

(2) Blouke Carus, a polymath engineer educated at Caltech; he transformed Carus LLC into a global leader while launching both the Open Court Language Arts Program and the Cricket Magazine Group with his wife, Marianne Carus, resulting in significant improvements in children's literacy;

(3) Martin Cooper, an American engineer; he led the Motorola team that developed the first cell phone and placed the first public call from a handheld portable cell phone in 1973;

(4) Abraham Lincoln, the first and only U.S. president with a patent; he signed the Pacific Railway Act into law, creating the transcontinental railroad that connected and secured the great expanse of the United States from sea to shining sea;

(5) A.E. Staley, founder of the A.E. Staley Mfg. Company; he rose from humble beginnings on a farm to create a global agricultural manufacturing company while founding the Decatur Staleys that later became the Chicago Bears;

(6) Arthur Velasquez, founder of Azteca Foods; he and nine other Mexican Americans created an international food manufacturer fueled by a passion to bring traditional, quality Mexican food to a wider group of consumers;

(7) Cell Phone, created by Motorola; it sparked a technological revolution, changed communication globally, and is considered one of the most important inventions of the 20th Century;

(8) Cracker Jack, featuring a recipe of popcorn, peanuts, and molasses; it was first produced by the Rueckheim brothers, was presented at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, and was mentioned in the famed Take Me Out to the Ball Game song;

(9) Dishwasher, created in Illinois by Josephine Cochrane who later founded the Garis-Cochrane Manufacturing Company; patented in 1886, it was the first dishwasher to rely on heat and water pressure, making dishwashers that provided a better, safer, and faster way to clean dishes;

(10) Lincoln Logs, a children's construction toy and the namesake of President Abraham Lincoln; invented by John Lloyd Wright and produced by The Red Square Toy Company, it was the first toy to be marketed to both boys and girls to encourage creativity;

(11) Steel Plow, created by a young blacksmith named John Deere; it was made with cast steel that allowed farmers to cut through heavy soil, which allowed for more efficient and increased food production as well as the expansion of usable land;

(12) Abbott, a global healthcare leader; founded in Chicago in 1888, it helps people live more fully at all stages of life with technologies and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals, and branded generic medicines;

(13) Caterpillar Inc., an iconic and innovative company that helped build America; its legacy began with the production of a steam tractor in 1890 and now includes famed mining, agriculture, and construction equipment, including bulldozers, road graders, and large mining trucks;

(14) IMA Founding Members; the Illinois Manufacturers' Association is the oldest statewide manufacturing trade association in the United States and was founded in Chicago in 1893 by Amsted Industries, Brunswick, the Western Edison Light Company (Commonwealth Edison), Dial Soap, Deere & Company, People's Gas, and The Tablet & Ticket Company;

(15) Knapheide Manufacturing Company; founded in Quincy in 1848 by Herman Heinrich Knapheide as the Knapheide Wagon Company, the company has evolved from making wagons, spokes, and axles to customized truck bodies and truck beds used across multiple industries, including agriculture, contracting, construction, forestry, and water;

(16) University of Illinois System; comprised of three universities, the University of Illinois System, originally founded as Illinois Industrial University, fulfills its land-grant mission by providing education and research opportunities to more than 94,000 students, creating pathways to economic development and graduating more engineering students than any other institution of higher education; and

(17) Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, an American candy and chewing gum company founded in Chicago in 1891 by William Wrigley Jr., now part of Mars and home of some of the most iconic snacking, food, and pet care brands in the world; it is the largest producer and distributor of chewing gum in the world and funded the All-American Girls Baseball League during World War II; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the initial inductees of the Illinois Manufacturing Hall of Fame; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Illinois Manufacturers' Association as a symbol of our respect and esteem.