SJ0058 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, It is fitting to honor those who have served their communities and country; and

WHEREAS, John Nicolay, who was born in Bavaria and later immigrated to the United States, settled in Pittsfield and edited the Pike County Free Press; and

WHEREAS, Nicolay later met Abraham Lincoln and became a loyal adherent of the future President of the United States; and

WHEREAS, Upon becoming President, Abraham Lincoln appointed John Nicolay as his personal secretary, a role he served until President Lincoln's assassination; and

WHEREAS, John Hay, who was sent to live in Pittsfield to attend school, later met John Nicolay; and

WHEREAS, After John Hay graduated from Brown University, John Nicolay recommended that Hay assist him in his duties as President Lincoln's secretary; and

WHEREAS, John Hay served as a secretary to President Lincoln until his assassination; he continued to live a life of public service, as the Ambassador to the United Kingdom and then the Secretary of State; and

WHEREAS, John Nicolay and John Hay collaborated on the official biography of President Lincoln; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that Illinois Highway 107 from Pittsfield to Interstate 72 is designated as the "Lincoln Secretaries' Trail"; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with State and federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs giving notice of the name "Lincoln Secretaries' Trail".