HR0969 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0969 LRB104 22267 MST 38645 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate the 2026 inductees to the Illinois Manufacturing Hall of Fame and commend them for their historic and positive impact on Illinois and the United States; and

WHEREAS, Illinois manufacturers play a major role in the State's economy, employing 650,000 workers directly and contributing the single largest share of Illinois' gross domestic product; and

WHEREAS, Illinois manufacturers have played a major role in every significant event in the history of the United States, including the Civil War, World War II while serving as the Arsenal of Democracy, the Industrial Revolution, Industry 4.0, the Space Race, and now quantum; and

WHEREAS, Illinois manufacturers make the world a better place to live every single day by creating lifesaving medical products, feeding people throughout the world, making transportation systems that move people and products around the globe and into space, employing new communication technologies that were not envisioned a short decade ago, building our critical infrastructure, and providing for our nation's defense; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Manufacturers' Association will be inducting the 3rd class into the Illinois Manufacturing Hall of Fame on June 25, 2026; and

WHEREAS, The 12 inductees, which include people, products, and companies, have made a substantial and indelible impact on manufacturing in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The 12 inductees in the 2026 Illinois Manufacturing Hall of Fame represent a cross section of more than 200 years of Illinois manufacturing, which includes iconic products that have revolutionized daily life, companies that have transformed our society, and visionary leaders who dedicated themselves to building a brighter tomorrow; and

WHEREAS, The 12 inductees in the 2026 Illinois Manufacturing Hall of Fame include:

(1) Joseph F. Glidden, an Illinois businessman and farmer, is known as the "Father of Barbed Wire" who put DeKalb and Illinois on the map with his invention that "fenced the west"; he later donated 63 acres of his homestead as a site for Northern Illinois State Normal School that later became Northern Illinois University;

(2) Rick Delawder, president of SWD Inc., leads a second-generation, family-owned metal finishing, coating, and fastener-sorting facility in Addison with a commitment to excellence that defines the best of American manufacturing; his industry leadership spans far beyond his own company; he has served as board president of both the National Association for Surface Finishing and the Chicago Metal Finishers Institute and chaired the Illinois Manufacturers' Association Board of Directors from 2017-2019;

(3) Don Welge, over six decades, transformed Gilster Milling Co., a small family-owned flour mill, into Gilster-Mary Lee, a private label food manufacturing powerhouse; an eternal optimist and passionate advocate for southern Illinois, he was a philanthropic civic leader who worked on a range of projects from those supporting local communities and historic preservation to the nation's food supply chain security;

(4) Marsha Serlin, founder of United Scrap Metal, an award-winning leader in recycling solutions, is a pioneer and sustainability trailblazer; she founded the company in 1978 with $200 and a rented truck, growing it into one of the largest recyclers in the United States, and is proud to employ more than 750 team members throughout eleven operations in nine states; she is dedicated to giving back to the community and leads her team based on the mission of making a positive impact in the lives of others;

(5) White House China, produced by Pickard China in Antioch since 1893, is a high-quality, durable porcelain with gold accents and has been used by American presidents, including the pattern "Kailua Blue" that was used by President Barack Obama and the Magnolia Service (designed by Anna Weatherly) used by President George W. Bush that featured a green basket-weave pattern and gold eagle; the china is also used on Air Force One and in American Embassies across the world;

(6) Eli's Cheesecake was started in 1940 when Eli Schulman found a foreclosure sign on the door of his favorite coffee shop; armed with little more than a twinkle in his eye and his mother's recipes, he bought the place, and the rest is history; 40 years and a few restaurants later, he declared cheesecake to be the signature dessert at the legendary Eli's The Place For Steak; it was there that he created Chicago Style Cheesecake, thanks to his unconventional fast and hot baking method with no water bath; the delicious result was a cheesecake loved for its beautiful caramelization, creamy texture, and all-butter shortbread cookie crust; it debuted at the first Taste of Chicago in 1980, becoming the festival's most popular dessert and soon earning the reputation of Chicago food icon; Eli's Cheesecake is proudly made at its third-generation bakery in Chicago;

(7) NERDS Gummy Clusters, launched in 2020 by Ferrara Candy Company, is an innovative multi-textural candy that became an immediate sensation growing into one of the most recognizable and best-selling global brands; this popular candy features a sweet, fruity gummy center covered in iconic tangy, crunchy NERDS, creating a mix of textures and flavors in a single bite;

(8) Spray Paint, contained in a sealed, pressurized can, is released when a valve button is pushed; in 1949, Edward H. Seymour from Seymour of Sycamore added paint to existing spray can technology and patented the product that delivers a smooth, even coat of paint with more than 400 million cans produced annually in the United States;

(9) Lapham-Hickey Steel, founded in 1926 in Chicago, is a 4th generation family-owned and family-operated steel service center headquartered in Bedford Park with 13 locations and 1,000 teammates; for a century, it has supplied a wide variety of high-quality steel products, supporting the manufacturing base and critical industries throughout Illinois, the Midwest, and North America;

(10) S&C Electric Company, established in 1911, transformed electricity distribution with the invention of the Liquid Power Fuse, leading a new era of safer power delivery; today, the company continues to empower people to transform the grid by building on its legacy of technology leadership to deliver innovative solutions for a safer, more reliable, and more resilient electrical grid;

(11) Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), headquartered in Chicago, is an essential global agricultural supply chain manager, processor, and premier human and animal nutrition provider; a cutting-edge innovator, it is a leader in business-driven sustainability efforts that support a strong agricultural sector, resilient supply chains, and a vast and growing bioeconomy; and

(12) C. H. Hanson & Co., founded in 1866 in Chicago by Christian Henry Hanson, is a fifth-generation, family-owned company that has a range of tools to serve construction, plumbing, and metalworking sectors; and

WHEREAS, Illinois manufactures have played a key role in the first 250 years of America and will continue to do so in the future; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the 2026 inductees to the Illinois Manufacturing Hall of Fame and commend them for their historic and positive impact on Illinois and the United States, and we extend our gratitude for their continued commitment to building a brighter future for all Americans; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the Illinois Manufacturers' Association and the 2026 inductees to the Illinois Manufacturing Hall of Fame as a token of our esteem and respect.