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HR0969 - 104th General Assembly

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HR0969
LRB104 22267 MST 38645 r
1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

2

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3
Representatives wish to congratulate the 2026 inductees to the
4
Illinois Manufacturing Hall of Fame and commend them for their
5
historic and positive impact on Illinois and the United
6
States; and

7

WHEREAS, Illinois manufacturers play a major role in the
8
State's economy, employing 650,000 workers directly and
9
contributing the single largest share of Illinois' gross
10
domestic product; and

11

WHEREAS, Illinois manufacturers have played a major role
12
in every significant event in the history of the United
13
States, including the Civil War, World War II while serving as
14
the Arsenal of Democracy, the Industrial Revolution, Industry
15
4.0, the Space Race, and now quantum; and

16

WHEREAS, Illinois manufacturers make the world a better
17
place to live every single day by creating lifesaving medical
18
products, feeding people throughout the world, making
19
transportation systems that move people and products around
20
the globe and into space, employing new communication
21
technologies that were not envisioned a short decade ago,
22
building our critical infrastructure, and providing for our

HR0969
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LRB104 22267 MST 38645 r
1
nation's defense; and

2

WHEREAS, The Illinois Manufacturers' Association will be
3
inducting the 3rd class into the Illinois Manufacturing Hall
4
of Fame on June 25, 2026; and

5

WHEREAS, The 12 inductees, which include people, products,
6
and companies, have made a substantial and indelible impact on
7
manufacturing in Illinois; and

8

WHEREAS, The 12 inductees in the 2026 Illinois
9
Manufacturing Hall of Fame represent a cross section of more
10
than 200 years of Illinois manufacturing, which includes
11
iconic products that have revolutionized daily life, companies
12
that have transformed our society, and visionary leaders who
13
dedicated themselves to building a brighter tomorrow; and

14

WHEREAS, The 12 inductees in the 2026 Illinois
15
Manufacturing Hall of Fame include:
16

(1) Joseph F. Glidden, an Illinois businessman and
17

farmer, is known as the "Father of Barbed Wire" who put
18

DeKalb and Illinois on the map with his invention that
19

"fenced the west"; he later donated 63 acres of his
20

homestead as a site for Northern Illinois State Normal
21

School that later became Northern Illinois University;
22

(2) Rick Delawder, president of SWD Inc., leads a

HR0969
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LRB104 22267 MST 38645 r
1

second-generation, family-owned metal finishing, coating,
2

and fastener-sorting facility in Addison with a commitment
3

to excellence that defines the best of American
4

manufacturing; his industry leadership spans far beyond
5

his own company; he has served as board president of both
6

the National Association for Surface Finishing and the
7

Chicago Metal Finishers Institute and chaired the Illinois
8

Manufacturers' Association Board of Directors from
9

2017-2019;
10

(3) Don Welge, over six decades, transformed Gilster
11

Milling Co., a small family-owned flour mill, into
12

Gilster-Mary Lee, a private label food manufacturing
13

powerhouse; an eternal optimist and passionate advocate
14

for southern Illinois, he was a philanthropic civic leader
15

who worked on a range of projects from those supporting
16

local communities and historic preservation to the
17

nation's food supply chain security;
18

(4) Marsha Serlin, founder of United Scrap Metal, an
19

award-winning leader in recycling solutions, is a pioneer
20

and sustainability trailblazer; she founded the company in
21

1978 with $200 and a rented truck, growing it into one of
22

the largest recyclers in the United States, and is proud
23

to employ more than 750 team members throughout eleven
24

operations in nine states; she is dedicated to giving back
25

to the community and leads her team based on the mission of
26

making a positive impact in the lives of others;

HR0969
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1

(5) White House China, produced by Pickard China in
2

Antioch since 1893, is a high-quality, durable porcelain
3

with gold accents and has been used by American
4

presidents, including the pattern "Kailua Blue" that was
5

used by President Barack Obama and the Magnolia Service
6

(designed by Anna Weatherly) used by President George W.
7

Bush that featured a green basket-weave pattern and gold
8

eagle; the china is also used on Air Force One and in
9

American Embassies across the world;
10

(6) Eli's Cheesecake was started in 1940 when Eli
11

Schulman found a foreclosure sign on the door of his
12

favorite coffee shop; armed with little more than a
13

twinkle in his eye and his mother's recipes, he bought the
14

place, and the rest is history; 40 years and a few
15

restaurants later, he declared cheesecake to be the
16

signature dessert at the legendary Eli's The Place For
17

Steak; it was there that he created Chicago Style
18

Cheesecake, thanks to his unconventional fast and hot
19

baking method with no water bath; the delicious result was
20

a cheesecake loved for its beautiful caramelization,
21

creamy texture, and all-butter shortbread cookie crust; it
22

debuted at the first Taste of Chicago in 1980, becoming
23

the festival's most popular dessert and soon earning the
24

reputation of Chicago food icon; Eli's Cheesecake is
25

proudly made at its third-generation bakery in Chicago;
26

(7) NERDS Gummy Clusters, launched in 2020 by Ferrara

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1

Candy Company, is an innovative multi-textural candy that
2

became an immediate sensation growing into one of the most
3

recognizable and best-selling global brands; this popular
4

candy features a sweet, fruity gummy center covered in
5

iconic tangy, crunchy NERDS, creating a mix of textures
6

and flavors in a single bite;
7

(8) Spray Paint, contained in a sealed, pressurized
8

can, is released when a valve button is pushed; in 1949,
9

Edward H. Seymour from Seymour of Sycamore added paint to
10

existing spray can technology and patented the product
11

that delivers a smooth, even coat of paint with more than
12

400 million cans produced annually in the United States;
13

(9) Lapham-Hickey Steel, founded in 1926 in Chicago,
14

is a 4th generation family-owned and family-operated steel
15

service center headquartered in Bedford Park with 13
16

locations and 1,000 teammates; for a century, it has
17

supplied a wide variety of high-quality steel products,
18

supporting the manufacturing base and critical industries
19

throughout Illinois, the Midwest, and North America;
20

(10) S&C Electric Company, established in 1911,
21

transformed electricity distribution with the invention of
22

the Liquid Power Fuse, leading a new era of safer power
23

delivery; today, the company continues to empower people
24

to transform the grid by building on its legacy of
25

technology leadership to deliver innovative solutions for
26

a safer, more reliable, and more resilient electrical

HR0969
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LRB104 22267 MST 38645 r
1

grid;
2

(11) Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), headquartered in
3

Chicago, is an essential global agricultural supply chain
4

manager, processor, and premier human and animal nutrition
5

provider; a cutting-edge innovator, it is a leader in
6

business-driven sustainability efforts that support a
7

strong agricultural sector, resilient supply chains, and a
8

vast and growing bioeconomy; and
9

(12) C. H. Hanson & Co., founded in 1866 in Chicago by
10

Christian Henry Hanson, is a fifth-generation,
11

family-owned company that has a range of tools to serve
12

construction, plumbing, and metalworking sectors; and

13

WHEREAS, Illinois manufactures have played a key role in
14
the first 250 years of America and will continue to do so in
15
the future; therefore, be it

16

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
17
HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18
we congratulate the 2026 inductees to the Illinois
19
Manufacturing Hall of Fame and commend them for their historic
20
and positive impact on Illinois and the United States, and we
21
extend our gratitude for their continued commitment to
22
building a brighter future for all Americans; and be it
23
further

HR0969
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LRB104 22267 MST 38645 r
1

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
2
presented to the Illinois Manufacturers' Association and the
3
2026 inductees to the Illinois Manufacturing Hall of Fame as a
4
token of our esteem and respect.

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