093_HR0342

                                     LRB093 11839 KEF 16589 r

 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The Wagner Companies, Wagner  Printing  Company,
 3    InfoComm  Print,  and  Jade  Creative,  are celebrating their
 4    150-year anniversary; and

 5        WHEREAS, Founded in 1853, the Wagner  Companies  are  the
 6    oldest  family  owned  and  operated  printing company in the
 7    United States; the oldest family owned and operated  business
 8    in  the  City of Chicago; and the third oldest family firm in
 9    the State of Illinois; and

10        WHEREAS, For  six  generations,  the  Wagner  family  has
11    epitomized   American   ingenuity;  the  first-generation  of
12    Wagners  established  a  German   language   newspaper,   the
13    Deutscher Anzeiger, published continuously from 1853 to 1917,
14    which  became  the most prominent and long-lived newspaper of
15    its time; the Deutscher Anzeiger covered the Lincoln  Douglas
16    Debates held in 1858; and

17        WHEREAS,  When anti-German war sentiment at the beginning
18    of World War I resulted  in  the  closing  of  the  Deutscher
19    Anzeiger,  the Wagners became successful commercial printers;
20    the second-generation of  Wagners  built  one  on  the  first
21    buildings   in   northwestern   Illinois  to  be  powered  by
22    electricity, which is still in operation today; and

23        WHEREAS, During World War II,  when  paper  was  rationed
24    except   for   military  purposes,  the  third-generation  of
25    Wagners, led by a woman, made a vital contribution to the war
26    effort; the print shop was transformed into an assembly  line
27    where    over    one   hundred   women   produced   precision
28    micro-switches, which were  used  in  virtually  all  of  the
29    airplanes during World War II; and

30        WHEREAS,   The  fifth  and  sixth-generation  of  Wagners
31    expanded from Freeport into the Chicago and Rockford markets;
 
                            -2-      LRB093 11839 KEF 16589 r
 1    leaders  in  innovation  and  technology,  they  used   their
 2    printing  expertise and dedication to craftsmanship to create
 3    a full-service onestop digital and  conventional  print  shop
 4    where customers run their projects from concept to completion
 5    in  one location; specializing in information management, the
 6    Wagner Companies  can  develop  materials  in  print  or  web
 7    format; therefore, be it

 8        RESOLVED,   BY   THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
 9    NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,  that
10    we  congratulate  the Wagner family and the Wagner Companies,
11    Wagner Printing Company, InfoComm Print, and  Jade  Creative,
12    on  the  celebration  of  their  150th anniversary; and be it
13    further

14        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
15    presented  to  the  Wagner  family  as  an  expression of our
16    respect and esteem.