" Great guy, yet seems to be acting desperate lately. Perhaps a loss would hamper on the ol golf game? "

" Does anyone else see a problem with him using the county provided vehicle to take his kids to school on a daily basis and for many other personal reasons ? "

" I'm not real clear on how or why one would compare Sully to Mike Cox. I'm not aware of Mr. Cox saving any lives lately or doing the one in a million of landing a plane in water safely. C'mon, I mean there is no comparison.

And pointing out that Cox knows where the potholes and erosion are?????? Why hasn't he fixed it????? Point out the obvious though because I needed to know that before I cast my vote, for the other guy. "

" biker girl, if the other guy is so great and so well-prepared for the job, can you explain why his business went bankrupt? Personally, I want to entrust my tax dollars to someone who can stay in the black. "

" I thought "the other guy" just sold out?...heck his business was around for a LONG time. How long has Cox been in business?...I missed that. "

" oldschool, nope, you're mistaken. He was forced to sell the building because the business went belly up. Mike Cox has been in the road commissioner business a long time, having apprenticed under one of the best, Tarry James. "

" Wow, the mudslinging really gets going during election season doesn't it? Let me add a little to the pile.

I would agree with Stan Adkins about Mr. Cox being destinded for life on the streets. It's called election time and being voted out of office. And, after all, I saw him out in a taxpayer paid for vehicle putting up election signs. I know that's what I want my tax dollars going towards. WRONG!!!

Now, I am curious, this last winter Mr. Cox didn't like going out in the cold with his crew so will he be doing that this winter? Also, I know that in the summer he and Stan both love to golf. After all, everyone knows Mr. Cox spends a lot of time at the local country club golfing in warm weather. Is there no road commissioner work to be done in the warm weather either?

Hahvahd, are you citing a specific case number in the bankruptcy court? How is it you have this information? If it is true, there are various reasons for why a person might file and it doesn't make them irresponsible with money. Illness, injury, job loss, etc are all reasons why a person might file bankruptcy. Are you stating you know a fact and the reasons behind that?

Yeah, the "other guy" SOLD his business.

I'm voting for the other guy because I've not seen him slinging mud. Maybe the longevity of the other guy's business speaks for his determination and hard work and commitment to a job.

I'll cast my vote for the other guy who has a name, Jim Chase. "

" Does he still use that gray Ford county truck to take his kids to school everyday ? If he does, I have a problem with that.Use your own vehicle for your kids transportation, not the taxpayer funded one that I have seen him use for his own PERSONAL reasons.I don't turn a blind eye like most do.

I questioned someone about his misuse of vehicles and was told their is nothing the taxpayers can do but wait til election time and get em out.I guess now is the time !!!! "

" And to usmcvet, I have no idea what he takes his kids to school in. He only has 1 schoolaged child, btw, so "kids" is inaccurate. The only time I've seen him on school property, he's been in a mini van. "

" Tried posting this once and it didn't get through the moderators, so I'll try again with less information. If you will go to judici.com and look up the person in question, you will find 2 cases related to finances, with the total default close to $30,000. As far as bankruptcy, those cases aren't filed in Coles Co., so I'm not sure where to look. But the info on judici.com will show that this isn't fabrication. "

" Missblueeyes, as far as where I got the bankruptcy info, I heard it from someone who used to do business there. I had assumed "the other guy" had merely sold the business but was told that I was wrong. Judici.com is a website you can go to for information about court cases. I'm not sure which area county bankruptcy cases are filed in, but there are other financial matters that are filed here in Coles Co. It's probably not a bad idea to look up ALL candidates on the judici.com website -- in fact, I'll say TTFN so I can do just that. "

" Oh yes I could see the savings Mr. Cox is providing by using a county vehicle to put up his elections signs. I know that's how I expect our tax dollars to be spent. NOT! How unethical is that? And unprofessional? Now, I'm reading on here that he's taking his kids to school too? Our tax dollars are footing the bill for gas and maintenance on that vehicle and that is not the intended use. How about the rest of you living in Charleston Township? Is this how you want your tax dollars spent?

I'm not aware of him being out on the job day and night. I am aware that he doesn't mind sending his crew out when the weather is bad and they need to do their job and they do it well. But, Mr. Cox is seemingly absent on these inclement weather days. Apparently he doesn't like to be out in the cold.

On the flip side, he's at the golf course on the good weather days. So, I guess the roads and township are in such good shape it doesn't require one to actually be present on the job. I'm not getting that impression from those who reside in the township. Or is it fair to just make the township employees do all the work so Mr.Cox can have his claim to fame without actually doing the work?

I know Jim Chase will work full time as the position requires and put any and all additional hours that are needed to get the job done. We all know this job isn't 8-5, it is demanding and requires someone who is committed to the job and our township.

Something else troubling me is that Stan's letter implies that EIU is somehow endorsing Mr. Cox. I believe that as a state entity the university would not be allowed to endorse anyone. The process of using coal cinders in inclement weather provided by EIU will not end if Mr. Cox is not elected. I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way. EIU is very much into recycling materials if anyone bothered to read up on that topic.

To Hahvahd, how interesting that you have so much negativity and mud to sling towards Jim Chase and yet you are seemingly unaware of what many citizens in this county have witnessed out of Mr. Cox. It is fair to state what we have witnessed.

Perhaps we should have been utitilizing our camera phones to prove our point............or wait...............has that been done already? "

" To Hahvahd, get your facts straight. Judici is for county cases. So, you're assuming that judici is the end all, be all of information as I read your post?

Check your facts before you sling your mud--bankrupcty is federal and those cases aren't public. If your information is correct then one would presume you know the "other" candidate inside out and all the inner workings of his life both personal and professional? Are you saying there is NOTHING out there about Mr. Cox?

Now you're criticizing other people posting on here. "You heard it from someone" certainly makes it a fact doesn't it? I don't think so. That's so lame I can't think of anything to say other than it's obvious mud-slinging at its finest. I heard a lot of things about Mr. Cox and how he handles funding for the township but I'm not in a position to prove them, but I bet you there are people who can. There's a little mud back in your direction.

At least you don't discriminate---you criticize anyone on here who doesn't support your candidate. Yet, it appears he's not exactly lily-white in his behavior now is he?

Driving around in the county vehicle campaigning and putting out his signs is HIGHLY UNETHICAL and should be ILLEGAL. But, I don't hear you saying much about that.

I realize Illinois is not high on the ethical chart right now, but that's exactly WHY we need change.

Keeping something the same as it's always been doesn't mean it's the best that can be done.

I'll be voting against party lines when I cast my vote, because I believe in voting for the best candidate not necessarily how I may or may not choose to be registered. Let me be clear, I won't be voting for Mr. Cox. "

" Oh gee, like I've never heard of judici? However, I know that bankruptcy cases are federal. How do you know what Mr. Chase has or hasn't done? Do you know him personally?

I find it offensive that you imply I don't know how to look up information. I do know the difference between local, state and federal. I know the difference between right and wrong. Does your candidate? Apparently not.

Mr. Cox needs to be voted out because he's not doing the job and he's using the county vehicles for his own personal agenda. Apparently, when he's not out golfing.

If you want to play the game of "someone told you" well then someone or several someones told me and many others there could be some misuse of more than just the county vehicles by Mr. Cox.

Are you going to post what you found on Mr. Cox on judici? Or is he still in the ivory tower? "

" So, bikergirl, if a person has something to say against "the other guy" it equals mudslinging??? I think nearly $30,000 in judgments against you by people with whom you have done business is a valid issue to bring up about "the other guy," and that's not hearsay allegations, like those you and others have leveled against Cox, but black-and-white facts from Coles County court files. And no, I have no problem telling what I found about Road Commissioner Cox on Judici -- nothing but a single traffic violation from several years ago.

I know some of the accusations against Mr. Cox leveled here are totally false. For example, I have seen him take his son -- his only school-aged child, by the way -- to school in his personal mini van. As to other times that he has allegedly used the township vehicle inappropriately, where is the evidence of that?

Someone also mentioned that the job isn't an 8 to 5 one. That's important to note. For those of you who have criticized Mr. Cox for going golfing, do you have evidence that he did not work at all on those days? Perhaps he worked -- beyond a normal 8 hour day, even -- before and after going golfing.

The bottom line is that many of the roads I've driven on in Charleston Twp. are in better shape than the ones I've driven on in the city limits, and I think that's a credit to the kind of job Mike Cox has done as road commissioner. "

" To those supporting "the other guy," what are your reasons. I'd be interested in why you think he is qualified for the job, other than that he is a nice guy (which I have no reason to question). Does he have experience at maintaining roads? His opponent does, not just as road commissioner, but as a township employee for many years working with the previous road commissioner, Tarry James. Experience matters with this job, in my opinion. "

" Again, if you read judici correctly, there are not judgments against him because he filed bankruptcy. Learn to read the sight if you're going to quote it. I'm not sure what one man's hardship has to do with his ability to be honest and do a job. Are you implying anyone who has filed bankruptcy is unethical or automatically unqualified to do a job? If you knew how many people have filed bankruptcy in this county, I bet you'd be singing a different tune.

I shall quote from the site, "Motion to Dismiss Without Prejudice filed. Order of Dismissal filed." Now, do you understand what a motion to dismiss means? Read the cases again and you will find that they all say that.

Misquoting what is on the web on judici is clearly mud-slinging to me. I stated I had no proof to speak of other than having seen Mr. Cox out in a county vehicle doing these things. I don't have any records on how he handles the budget or any of that. I am not blind though and I know what I've seen and what many others have seen. I said YOU were going on "someone told me" and now you don't like it that I posted "someone told me" things about your candidate.

As far as Jim losing his building, he never owned it, Bob Beavers did. So, I'm pretty sure I have done some fact checking. You said he lost his building and that is a lie. You're mud-slinging and not fact finding.

You feel Mr. Cox has had allegations leveled that are false and I'm telling you that you don't have all the facts on Jim Chase. I have just proven that you are making false statements about Jim Chase. Hey, you're not going to vote for him but why deliberately misquote information that can be verified if you're not trying to sling mud?

Was Mr. Cox out placing ads and campaigning in a county vehicle today? Ohhh! I bet he was. In fact, I'm fairly sure about it.

I will reiterate that it is unethical and unprofessional to be using a county vehicle to campaign in. Our tax dollars paid to purchase that vehicle, we pay for the maintenance, we pay for the fuel. Why is does he feel entitled to abuse the use of that vehicle?

I don't know about other residents, but I am tired of "more of the same". I want to see new people in political offices and what party they are from is irrelevant. What I am concerned about is are they honest and ethical and I know Jim Chase to be both of those.

Are you trying to say the city isn't doing its job on our roads as well? Is there no one that can escape your wrath or defense of Mike Cox? I think our city workers do a damn good job and I am not going to take issue with how they do their job. If I were a city worker, I'd be pretty offended right now that you think the roads are in bad shape as opposed to the county.

City workers unite and vote for Chase!

My father told me growing up that you're only as good as your word and I know Jim Chase keeps his word. I know this to be fact.

I'm not going to entertain any more of this conversation, but would urge you to read a little more thoroughly and not quote that which you do not know. You are deliberately distorting the facts in the hopes of tarnishing a man's reputation. "

" I can't keep the blue eyes straight. It guess it was missblueeyes and not blueeyedbiker who accused me of making it up that the other guy had gone bankrupt. Biker, I guess what I was going by was the disposition that listed a judgment against the defendent and for Purina for over $19,400. You're right; he did not pay that judgment because it was later dismissed after the bankruptcy filing. But you said near the end of your post that "you're only as good as your word." Does that not extend to one's creditors as well, keeping your word to pay what you borrowed or ordered or charged?

As far as city employees are concerned, I NEVER accused them of doing a bad job; I just stated that Mr. Cox is keeping township roads in better shape than some of our city streets; you assumed I was dissing the city workers when I wasn't.

I, too, am tired of entertaining this discussion. I would still like to see supporters of the other guy offer up his qualifications in terms of experience at maintaining roads. I believe he has some experience in this area, but not nearly as extensive as Mr. Cox's. I think this is a job in which experience counts. And I do believe in "more of the same" when the past record is a strong and consistent job of maintaining safe roads!! "

" First of all Mike Cox misuses the township vehicle, I have seen him numerous times, I have no reason to lie or make up allegations.Nothing to gain in this for me.Kind of hard to miss those municpal plates.

2nd, when Mike first started at the township did he have any experience ? I highly doubt it. What did Mike do before he started working for the township ? Probably nothing related to maintaining roads.

3rd,I know some of you will be saying that I am Jim Chase,because of the screen name.Well it's not.I served during the Gulf War, Jim served in Vietnam.Remember, the war that the likes of Ted Nugent dodged because they were spineless and many other I could name as well.

4th, I am tired of the same old good ole' boy system that has been going on for quite some time.The misuse of the township work truck, golfing during work hours. I could see golfing during work ours if it was a privately owned business and Mike was the owner, but this is not the case here.Taxpayers pay him more than a fair wage, and entrust him to be there, not golfing and taking his kids to school in the county vehicle.

My vote will be going to Jim Chase. Not because of him being a former Marine either, because I know he will get the job done and have the taxpayers in mind when he makes key decisions. And I imagine he will keep that county truck a little cleaner than what it has been kept, it's called pride the last time I checked. "

" Taxpayer vehicles doing any personal business is PROHIBITED!

Taxpayer vehicles going to any personal residence is PROHIBITED!

No more taking the squad car home officers!
No more taking the work trucks home city/county workers!

This alone would save us taxpayers a fortune, and we are getting real tired of paying more and more in taxes.
Quit wasting our money! "

" usmcvet wrote on Apr 1, 2009 7:10 PM:

" First of all Mike Cox misuses the township vehicle, I have seen him numerous times, I have no reason to lie or make up allegations.Nothing to gain in this for me.Kind of hard to miss those municpal plates.

Hope you're sitting down vet, because I actually agree with you on this one.

Now relax, as this will not require any sort of cleansing ceremony, every once in a while we all find points that we can agree on, and public employees abusing tax payers property is definitely one, my friend.

While I haven't kept up with the IRS regulations pertaining to use of company vehicles, I believe he may even be in violation of using such a vehicle for personal use, unless he is actually reimbursing for his personal miles. The IRS says that use of a vehicle to and from work and or any personal miles is a taxable benefit. Either you reimburse your employer for those miles or you pay taxes on them. Do you think this guy is reimbursing his employer or paying taxes for his personal use of this vehicle?

For anyone who doubts the validity of this, talk to someone who has a company car and works for a fairly large company. The IRS doesn't bother with small outfits, but do enforce this policy with organizations that have several vehicles. So this guy is probably safe from scrutiny from them.

In a nutshell, what I'm saying is that he's probably not paying his fair share of taxes too. "

" Mike Cox does a great job. I have personally seen him out working nights and weekends many many times, not to mention all of the phone calls he must receive after hours at home and acts on that no one ever hears about. A persons word and handshake speaks volumes about ones character. If Mike Cox tells you he is going to fix something you can take it to the bank. "

" jrhickman, good post. Just because you see a county worker on a golf course, that doesn't mean they're cheating the taxpayers. There is nothing that stipulates a road commissioner's hours as 8 to 5; there is flexibility in that work schedule. I, too, have seen Mr. Cox working long hours on nights and weekends. "