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For his efforts, Cox received the Illinois Business Leadership Award at the annual Illinois Workforce Development Conference sponsored by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in Springfield.

“I’m pretty surprised,” Cox said. “I wasn’t expecting it, but it’s nice to be recognized.”

Cox and Metro Kleeners received the award for their open-minded approach to hiring.

“We have a policy that we care more about the choices people make from this point forward,” he said. “It’s important for employers to look beyond actions from the past and see the potential in their employees.”

Founded in 2002, Metro Kleeners is a local dry-cleaning company that has two locations in Northern Cook County and a third location opening soon. They also have contracts with 11 hotels in the Chicagoland area. Of Metro Kleeners’ staff of 42 people, approximately 75 percent have some sort of past criminal record.

“From a numbers perspective, it’s an absolute advantage to consider people with criminal records when hiring,” Cox said. “Beyond the tax breaks, there’s the fact that there’s very little to differentiate between someone with a criminal record and someone without one. Everyone needs to have an opportunity. That’s part of our commitment to our community.”

Cox is also a member of Safer Foundation’s Employer Advisory Board and speaks highly of the work Safer does throughout Illinois and Eastern Iowa.

“Safer provides a group of candidates that are readily available and eager to work,” he said. “Though there might be a general apprehension [when hiring people with criminal records] , Safer is the best thing out there for helping people who are willing to work to have the chance to go out and work everyday.”

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn was in attendance as the banquet’s keynote speaker as Cox received his award.

While he was appreciative of the honor, Cox was somewhat disappointed that an organization of modest size like Metro Kleeners could garner such attention.

“It’s nice to be recognized, but it’s disappointing that the little that we do is recognized on such a high level,” Cox said. “That shows that people aren’t doing enough to help this issue on a larger scale.”

-- David Dexter