MI AG Cox speaks on AIG Suite,Transparancy in Gov., help to avoid foreclosure

Attorney general Mike Cox pays visit to Lapeer County

Expected to announce run for governor
http://www.countypress.com/stories/032909/loc_20090329096.shtml

by SUSAN YOUNGER

Staff Reporter

...In a visit to The Lapeer County Press, Cox touched on issues such as a possible run for office, a lawsuit against American International Group (AIG), and a transparency reform movement sweeping the nation with editor Jeffrey Hogan.

"I expect we will be making an announcement sometime in the near future," said Cox in response to Hogan's question about declaring his candidacy. "I have formed an exploratory committee, but I'm trying to keep politics away from the office."

Cox said he will be the lead plaintiff in a national class action suit against AIG. The company allegedly violated federal securities law by misleading investors about the value of sub-prime related securities.

"It cost Michigan pension funds and other investors billions," Cox said. "Investment firms that put the retirement of Michigan residents at risk will be held accountable."

Cox, 48, said he is applauding the transparency movement. As a U.S. Senator, President Barack Obama co-sponsored legislation creating the Web site to put all federal government spending on-line, he said.

Cox said his department was the first in Michigan government to put all spending online at www.michigan.gov/trackyourtaxes.

"Many states have become transparent, but it is not so in Michigan," Cox said. "Governor Granholm for some reason has remained on the sidelines. Michigan residents have a right to know where their money is spent."

Cox announced the scheduling of several Avoid Foreclosure Forums around the state, including an April 28 event at Ford Field in Detroit. The last Avoid Foreclosure Forum, held at Cobo Center, helped 4,500 area residents sit down face to face with mortgage lenders, HUD-approved non-profit financial counselors and state officials in an effort to help families keep their homes during these difficult economic times, he said.

"They'll be able to sit down with someone on the spot and re-negotiate their loans," Cox said.

Cox was born in 1961 and graduated from Detroit's Catholic Central High School and entered the Marines. After graduating from the University of Michigan Law School in 1989, ...