In response to continued media enquiries Herman Cain released the following statement:

"I am no longer a candidate for elected office, nor have I been since suspending my campaign almost two weeks ago. Having millions of Americans supporting my candidacy and solutions for our country was humbling and immensely gratifying", said Herman Cain. "Though my candidacy has ended, I continue debating the appropriate role of government in society and fighting for more fiscal discipline and solutions to America's problems."

For More Information:
Mark Block, Chief of Staff to Herman Cain
caincos@gmail.com

CHICAGO - December 15, 2011. Lt. Governor Sheila Simon submitted testimony to the Governor's Campaign Finance Reform Task Force during a public hearing today in Chicago.

Simon stated: "I would like to commend the Campaign Finance Reform Task Force for continuing the important work of the Illinois Reform Commission, which helped pass the first campaign finance limits in the history of this state. As a logical next step, I support a public finance system for judicial elections in Illinois that does not use general revenue dollars but is instead funded through an increase in court filing or lawyer registration fees. The perception that any judges could be unduly influenced by campaign contributions is something that our democracy and judicial system cannot afford to ignore."

Simon is a former Jackson County prosecutor and served on the Illinois Reform Commission, which was created by Governor Quinn in 2009 in the wake of former Governor Blagojevich's arrest. Governor Quinn created the Campaign Finance Reform Task Force in 2010 to review the implementation of the first phase of campaign finance reform and to study the feasibility of public financing or other reforms.

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Since my campaign ended, I've been honored to hear from so many people who asked me to continue because they felt I was the person who could help this country fix things that urgently needed fixing. I will continue to lead but not as a candidate, because I chose to put family first.

I will continue to be your voice and our voice. We will make 9-9-9 a movement. We will put "strength" back into Peace through Strength and Clarity. We will become energy independent. We will put "united" back into the United States of America.

I know this from you: When the people understand it, they will demand it!

We can't count on the mainstream media to properly inform us, because too many members of the media are chasing the sensationalized or distorted story. Many Members of Congress are so busy trying to keep up with the legislative process, small incremental changes in the laws and the partisan cat fights that the big changes needed never get addressed. Worse yet, they never even try.

We have seen repeatedly that expecting 535 Members of Congress and the president to make bold changes to truly fix problems from the inside of Washington is not going to happen. Washington is broken! We must change it from the outside.

The late Sen. Everett Dirksen popularized the phrase "when they feel the heat, they will see the light." We will be the heat like they have never felt it before. Politicians' actions are ultimately determined by what they believe the people are demanding of them. We will demand bold changes.

This is why I have created The Cain Solutions.

With your continued help and support, The Cain Solutions is designed to change the dynamics in Washington, D.C. The critics will say this can't be done. Remember, these are the same critics who did not think we would make it as far as we did in the Republican presidential nominating contest.

The Cain Solutions will initially focus on three critical crises:

1. Economic growth
2. Sound money
3. Energy independence

Whether the pundits like it or not, my campaign took off because of the 9-9-9 plan. It was a classic case of an idea that was substantive, effective and easy for people to understand. The tax code is a mess. Rates are too high, loopholes are too prevalent and people in Washington are constantly trying to use the tax code to manipulate behaviors and outcomes. The 9-9-9 plan would achieve a massive transfer of power from Washington to the people. We can make that happen.

Sound money involves both fiscal and monetary sanity. Congress and the White House refuse to enact a responsible budget that's balanced and achieves real spending restraint. They refuse to address major spending commitments that have us saddled with massive debt and unfunded entitlement obligations. And they constantly try to manipulate the currency to cover this up. Sound money policy would stop the pretending, stop the manipulation and bring back a strong dollar along with sensible fiscal behavior.

Finally, energy independence gets into everything from regulatory reform to national security. Most people have no idea how severely excessive federal regulations hamper our ability to access plentiful, affordable energy resources right here in the USA. Excessive regulations add mightily to the cost of exploration and distribution. And as we are now seeing, we can't even build a pipeline to get oil from our friends in Canada due to a political stalling tactic by the president.

This regulatory environment is insane. Politicians yammer on about "job creation," but there is scarcely a better way to create jobs than to get out of the way of domestic oil extraction, production and distribution. It addresses a real need and a real demand that will exist for a very long time in the future. If the people realized this, they would demand an end to these crazy regulatory policies - and change would come.

This will be the initial focus of The Cain Solutions. While we're putting the effort together, you can sign up at TheCainSolutions.com, so you'll be among the first to be informed, involved, and inspired when things get rolling.

Cain supporters, stay tuned. We're still going to get the job done. We're going to have to do it from the outside, and I will lead the way and be the people's voice.