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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate State Farm on the
4occasion of its 100th anniversary; and
 
5    WHEREAS, One of America's premier financial service firms
6with a countrywide presence, State Farm is headquartered in
7the city of Bloomington; and
 
8    WHEREAS, When Henry Ford led the invention of America's
9first mass-produced, gasoline-powered motor vehicles, the
10millions of motor cars that streamed onto America's roads and
11highways created a new way of life and new challenges for the
12people of Illinois; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Middle-class farmer George J. "G.J." Mecherle,
14born in Merna in rural McLean County east of Normal, became
15familiar with the new gasoline-powered engines and became an
16active and successful Central Illinois tractor salesman; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Familiar with Illinois rural life and rural
18roads, G.J. Mecherle realized that automobile insurance rates
19being offered by insurers to Central Illinois automobile
20owners did not reflect the true risks of the region; he
21believed Central Illinoisans deserved to have less expensive

 

 

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1insurance if they banded together to insure themselves
2"mutually" as policyholders; and
 
3    WHEREAS, In 1922, G.J. Mecherle circulated a proposal for
4members of farm mutuals who owned cars to pay a supplement to
5their dues to win the right to insure their cars for less
6money; and
 
7    WHEREAS, After many Illinoisans responded with great
8interest, and after licensure by the State of Illinois, the
9State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company opened its
10doors in Bloomington on June 8, 1922; and
 
11    WHEREAS, This financially pioneering market entry broke
12new ground in the U.S. insurance industry and paved the way for
13State Farm to expand into new customer bases and into many
14separate forms of financial protection and security, creating
15the State Farm of today, a family of financial service
16affiliates owned by State Farm Mutual; and
 
17    WHEREAS, As a provider of a large suite of financial
18service products, State Farm, along with its licensed agents,
19helps support household financial stability and economic
20growth in the communities it serves, and this is the source of
21State Farm's identity statement, "Like a Good Neighbor";
22therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
2HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3we congratulate State Farm on the 100th anniversary of its
4commencement of business; and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That we congratulate State Farm's personnel,
6retirees, and licensed agents, who are all essential elements
7in State Farm's identity as a "Good Neighbor"; and be it
8further
 
9    RESOLVED, That we wish State Farm many more centuries of
10good neighborship to come; and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
12presented to State Farm Chief Executive Officer Michael
13Tipsord as an expression of our esteem and respect.