John Wayne Cox Jr. (born July 10, 1947) is an American politician and attorney who served a single term as a

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

representing

Illinois's 16th congressional district The 16th congressional district of Illinois is represented by Republican Darin LaHood. Geographic boundaries 2011 redistricting The congressional district covers parts of DeKalb, Ford, Stark, Will and Winnebago counties, and all of Boone, ...

Early life and career

Cox was born in

Hazel Green, Wisconsin Hazel Green is a village in Grant and Lafayette counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 1,256 at the 2010 census. Of this, 1,243 were in Grant County, and only 13 were in Lafayette County. The village is located mostly within ...

. He attended the nearby

University of Wisconsin–Platteville University of Wisconsin–Platteville (UW–Platteville) is a public university in Platteville, Wisconsin. Part of the University of Wisconsin System, it offers bachelor's and master's degrees. The university has three colleges that serve ov ...

Platteville, Wisconsin Platteville is the largest city in Grant County in southwestern Wisconsin. The population was 11,836 at the 2020 census, up from 11,224 at the 2010 census. Much of this growth is likely due to the enrollment increase of the University of Wis ...

. After graduation, he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

where he served from 1969-1970. He then earned his

J.D. JD or jd may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''JD'' (film), a 2016 Bollywood film * J.D. (''Scrubs''), nickname of Dr. John Dorian, fictional protagonist of the comedy-drama ''Scrubs'' * JD Fenix, a character from the ''Gears of War'' vi ...

degree at John Marshall Law School in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. In 1976, Cox defeated Victor Sprengelmeyer, a Republican appointee, for election to serve as

State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a ...

for

Jo Daviess County, Illinois Jo Daviess County () is the northwesternmost county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 22,678. Its county seat is Galena. Jo Daviess County is part of the Tri-State Area and is located near Du ...

. During his tenure as State's Attorney, Cox was an advocate for enhanced federal prosecution of human traffickers operating on the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

—

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

border. He served two terms and returned to private practice. He was succeeded by J. Christopher Moore as State's Attorney. After his terms as State's Attorney, Cox served as a Special Assistant Attorney General with the Illinois Department of Public Aid, an instructor at

Loras College Loras College is a Private college, private Catholicism, Catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students and is the oldest Tertiary education, post-secondary institution in the state of Iowa. The school ...

, and the City Attorney for

Galena, Illinois Galena is the largest city in and the county seat of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, with a population of 3,308 at the 2020 census. A section of the city is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Galena Historic District. The c ...

Congressional term

After the retirement of

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

incumbent

Lynn Morley Martin Lynn Morley Martin (born Judith Lynn Morley; December 26, 1939) is an American businesswoman and former politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of labor from 1991 to 1993, under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Rep ...

, Cox joined the race to succeed her in Congress. Surprisingly, Cox defeated Republican John Hallock, a member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

from Rockford. During his term, he served on the Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee; Government Operations Committee; Financial Institutions Supervision, Regulation and Insurance Subcommittee; Housing and Community Development Subcommittee; and Government Information, Justice and Agriculture Subcommittee During the Republican-led 1991 decennial redistricting, the 16th district added portions of staunchly Republican McHenry County.

Donald Manzullo Donald Anthony Manzullo (born March 24, 1944) is an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for , from 1993 to 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party. From 2001 to 2007 he served as Chairman of the Comm ...

defeated Cox in the newly drawn 16th district. At the time of Cox's loss, fellow Illinois Democrat

Dan Rostenkowski Daniel David Rostenkowski (January 2, 1928 – August 11, 2010) was a United States Representative from Chicago, serving for 36 years, from 1959 to 1995. He became one of the most powerful legislators in Congress, especially in matters of ...

was laying the groundwork to get Cox a seat on the

United States House Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other progra ...

. Manzullo held the seat until his defeat by fellow Republican Congressman

Adam Kinzinger Adam Daniel Kinzinger (; born February 27, 1978) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for . The district covers eastern Rockford, most of Rockford's suburbs, and a swath of exurban territory around Chicago. He is a memb ...

for renomination in the 2012 Republican primary election held on March 20, 2012, after the 2011 decennial redistricting.

Post congressional career

Following his term, Cox returned to

where he continued his private law practice. Since returning to Galena, Cox he served as City Attorney for the City of Galena, Illinois. Cox served as Vice President for External Affairs and General Counsel for Jo-Carroll Energy, Inc. (NFP), an Illinois energy cooperative until he retired.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, John W. Jr. 1947 births Illinois lawyers Living people People from Galena, Illinois People from Hazel Green, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Platteville alumni Military personnel from Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Businesspeople from Illinois John Marshall Law School (Chicago) alumni Loras College faculty