Cox 2008 Web Site


Current Office/Occupation: Candidate for President

Born: Born on July 15, 1955, on the South Side and was raised in the south suburbs.

Education: University of Illinois at Chicago, graduating with honors and a degree in Accounting and Political Science. IT/Chicago Kent College of Law

Religion: evangelical, born-again Roman Catholic.

Family: The father of four daughters; Sarah, Stephanie, Shannon and Julianne, John has been deeply involved in their education and other activities, serving as a soccer and basketball coach and tutoring at school and many other activities.

He and his wife, the former Sarah Hall, reside in Chicago.

Significant Political & Career Experience: While attending night school at IT/Chicago Kent College of Law, John landed his first job with the prestigious accounting firm of Coopers and Lybrand. After graduating from Kent with high honors in 1980, he worked as an associate at the prestigious law firm of Devoe, Shadur & Krupp before starting his own practice.

He opened his first business, a law and accounting firm, in 1981. An investment advisory firm, real estate management company and a venture capital firm soon followed. During the 1990’s, John led the investment group that purchased Jays Potato Chips, a major regional food manufacturer, saving over 600 local jobs. Mr. Cox recruited and led a team of professional managers who turned a $17 million loss into a $3 million profit in less than a year.

John Cox is a long-time Illinois Republican leader. In 1977 he helped manage the re-election campaign of Dennis Block, the only Republican alderman at that time. When conservative icon, former Congressman and Housing Secretary Jack Kemp ran for the White House in 1988, John was proud to serve on his Illinois Steering Committee.

A long-time contributor to Republicans of all stripes, including Peter Fitzgerald, Jim Edgar, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, John himself ran for the GOP nomination in the 10th Congressional District in Illinois in 2000; the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in 2002; and, while acting as the President of the Cook County Republican Party demonstrated his commitment to the turnaround effort of that beleaguered organization by serving as the GOP nominee for Cook County Recorder of Deeds in 2004, winning newspaper endorsements for his plan to get rid of the office once elected.

Publications: John Cox, a staunch conservative, is the author of three publications, “Campaign for Prosperity and Renewal”, “A Blueprint for the Renewal and Rebirth of the Illinois Republican Party” and he has just completed his new book on changing American politics by bringing back statesmanship: Politic$, Inc.

Signficant Political Positions:

John Cox speaks on the Issues...

The War in Iraq
I believe we need to quickly build up Iraq’s economy by returning oil production to full capacity so they can become self-sufficient, then we will be able to pull out our troops victorious. A prosperous people do not turn to terrorism. We must win the war in Iraq and elsewhere so we are fighting terror over there, not over here.

Tax Policy
I want to eliminate the IRS. Our tax system is counterproductive, too complicated and time consuming. Taxing income is inherently wrong, and stunts economic growth. That is why I support the Fair Tax, which has been introduced in the Congress as HR25 and S25. As president, I will seek to eliminate the "death tax," and will veto all tax increase proposals.
The Illegal Immigration Crisis
While legal immigration is good for America, illegal immigration hurts our economy and strains our public services. Amnesty is not the answer, nor are "guest workers." We need Citizens who want to become part of our nation, learn English and contribute to the economy. I will crack down on businesses that hire - and exploit - illegal labor. We must protect our borders and enforce our laws.

Protecting our Second Amendment Rights
I am a Lifetime member of the NRA and fully support gun ownership and our Second Amendment right to bear arms. "Gun control" doesn’t work, and uses precious resources rather than going after criminals. Concealed Carry laws have helped prevent crime in the states that have adopted them.

National Security
Iran, North Korea and al-Qaeda are growing threats; we must adopt Ronald Reagan’s "Peace Through Strength" philosophy and communicate a policy of democracy and economic opportunity throughout the world. As president, I would strengthen our intelligence services, and I support a nuclear shield that could make nuclear weapons obsolete. I would balance protecting our civil liberties with the need to protect our national interests.

Standing for Life
As president, I will stand for the rights of the unborn. I am proudly pro-life without exception, from birth to natural death. If there is a question about protecting life versus protecting someone’s personal choices, we should ALWAYS resolve it in life’s favor. We should embrace the broadest possible definition of life, and err on the side of protecting it. Government has a role in defining life as a fundamental right.

Government Spending
As president, I will veto every Federal budget that is not balanced. Period. Government spending is out of control. Special interests make it very difficult for career politicians who depend on them for re-election to cut spending. I will eliminate the Commerce and Education Departments, I will seek Line-Item Veto and Balanced Budget Amendments from Congress, and urge zero-based budgeting and sun setting to force a constant re-evaluation of government programs

Traditional Values
Our values have a huge impact on our quality of life and are a bedrock of our society. Our values should be reflected by elected legislators, not by unelected and impossible-to-remove judges. Government should be "family friendly" in all that it does.

Religious Freedom
I believe that religious freedom is a fundamental human right. America should be steadfast in supporting the rights of individuals to express their religious beliefs in every corner of the world. I am a baptized, born-again evangelical Catholic who believes we need to embrace people of all religious beliefs. The religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution does not mean freedom from religion, or that religion must be banished from public discussion.

Standing for the Traditional Family and for Marriage
The traditional American family has suffered several defeats in the past decade at the hands of state courts, who force legislatures to impose so-called "gay marriage" or "civil unions" onto the people. As president, I will stand for the traditional American family and will support swift passage of the Federal Marriage Amendment to protect against this trend.

Social Security and Government Transfer Spending
Social Security has to be preserved, but is unsustainable in its current form. Private retirement accounts are the best hope we have to reform the system and make it financially available to future generations. Myths, lies, and demagoguery are the hallmarks of the political debate and must be replaced by sound reasoning and facts. Medicare and Medicaid are even bigger financial time bombs. I support managed care, vouchers and health savings accounts.

Regulation and Tort Reform
Regulation is necessary but should be governed by the free market. Regulators need to understand that they serve the private economy, not the other way around. All agencies should be graded on quality and efficiency. Regulations must make sense and not pick winners and losers in the economy. Rational legal reforms like loser pays are essential to keep our economy competitive.

Reforming Politics
We need more statesmen to enter politics, not more career politicians. The 1974 limits on spending have only cemented protected incumbents, who win with large networks of contributors. Immediate disclosure - sunlight - is the best disinfectant for a diseased campaign finance system. We must also have term limits for Congress, and repeal McCain-Feingold, which stifles free speech and has empowered liberal groups but has had no positive effects.

Health Care
Competition in health care will bring down costs and improve efficiency. We should inject patient and doctor choice into the system to create more accountability and cost control. As president, I will use America’s influence to force an end to foreign governments’ subsidizing drug costs at Americans’ expense. Ending the tax deduction for employee health insurance would provide more opportunity for patient choice and consumer power.

Energy and The Environment
Diversity is the key to our energy future. We are too dependent on expensive fossil fuels. I support alternative fuels and domestic drilling. Free market incentives and sensible regulation can address the problem of pollution. I oppose the Kyoto Treaty, which would devastate the U.S. economy. Fiscal responsibility and respect for property rights is key to environmental protection. Polluters should bear economic penalties.

Education
The government school monopoly is the problem. Competition is the answer, not more money, which has doubled after inflation in the past 20 years without much improvement in test scores. Turn parents into consumers with vouchers, which are Constitutional and do not lose money for public schools because the child is no longer there to create expenses. Education is a local and state issue. No Child Left Behind should be repealed.

Agriculture
A strong domestic agricultural industry is essential to our survival as a nation. A level playing field and forcing open new foreign markets for farmers that are currently closed are better than subsidies, which should be phased out. Big corporate farms have edged out the family farmers, and get most of the subsidies, but the family farm should remain the backbone of our economy.

Free but Fair Trade
I support free but fair trade policies. As the world's largest economy, we must exercise our tremendous economic power to force our trading partners to open their markets to our goods and services. American business needs a level playing field with vast improvements necessary in our tax and regulatory systems. When Americans have that fair playing field, we can and will compete with anyone in the world.


Presidential Campaign
Cox entered the campaign in Feb., 2006, and has campaigned extensively in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He has appeared on hundreds of radio talk shows across the nation, and has appeared on Fox and Friends and MSNBC several times.

His prospects in the primary, however, seem to be saddled to his failure to catch fire with the voters and build a solid base of financial and volunteer support.

He has struggled to raise money (less than $13,000 from Feb., 2006-March, 2007) and despite spending nearly a million dollars of his own funds on the effort, has failed to reach one percent in any of the national polls. He has also fired three campaign managers and has lost other staffers and numerous state chairmen in the 15 months he has ben running for president. Often, print media reports are not kind, bringing up his failed races for Congress, Senate and Recorder of Deeds, his lack of political experience and the "longshot" candidate label, which he cannot seem to shake.

His failure to gain momentum at the grasroots has cost his campaign dearly. He was denied a place on the stage of the May 2 GOP Reagan Library Debate (although he snuck into the "spin" room after the debate posing as a press photographer, and was later escorted by security from the building) and was denied a spot in the May 15, 2007 South Carolna GOP debate because he is not polling above one percent.

He sued the South Carolina Republican Party to gain entry to the debate or have it cancelled, arguing that the media have not included his name in national polls. But on Friday, May 11, a judge threw out the case.

While many people who hear him are attracted to his conservative message, he is unable to close the deal because of his longshot, "fringe candidate" status.