Jesse Jackson Jr. resigns from House, citing health

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) waves on U.S. Capitol steps in Washington December 2, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Yuri Gripas

By Richard Cowan and James B. Kelleher

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO | Wed Nov 21, 2012 11:03pm EST

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., who has been treated for bipolar disorder and is reportedly under investigation for possible misuse of campaign funds, resigned his seat on Wednesday, citing health reasons.

"My health issues and treatment regimen have become incompatible with service in the House of Representatives. Therefore, it is with great regret that I hereby resign ... effective today, in order to focus on restoring my health," the Chicago Democrat said in a letter to U.S. House Speaker John Boehner.

Jackson, the 47-year-old son of civil rights leader and former presidential candidate Reverend Jesse Jackson, also admitted to "my share of mistakes," in his two-page letter to Boehner, an Ohio Republican.

"I am aware of the ongoing federal investigation into my activities and I am doing my best to address the situation responsibly, cooperate with the investigators and accept responsibility for my mistakes, for they are my mistakes and mine alone," Jackson wrote.

Jackson has been in Congress since 1995 and easily won re-election in a heavily Democratic district earlier this month despite his ailment and the ethics questions hanging over him.

His resignation was not expected to result in any changes in the political balance of power of the U.S. House, which is controlled by Republicans. Voters in Jackson's district will now have to hold a special election to fill the vacancy.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said he would propose a date for the election within five days.

"We know that Congressman Jackson is confronting health challenges, and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family during this difficult time," Quinn said.

Jackson was treated for at least six weeks this summer at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for bipolar disorder, a psychological condition marked by extreme mood swings, and has been on medical leave since June.

He has also been the subject of a House ethics committee probe over an alleged bribe offered by a Jackson supporter in 2008 to then Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

The bribe was said to be intended to entice Blagojevich to appoint Jackson to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama. Jackson has admitted to lobbying for the seat, but denied knowing about any money offered to Blagojevich, who has since been convicted on corruption charges and imprisoned.

INVESTIGATION

According to news reports citing unnamed sources, Jackson is also being investigated by the FBI over possible misuse of campaign money. The FBI has not confirmed the reports.

In his letter to Boehner on Wednesday, Jackson acknowledged a probe was underway and said he hoped it would not overshadow his years of public service.

"None of us is immune from our share of shortcomings or human frailties and I pray I will be remembered for what I did right," Jackson wrote.

Emails and calls seeking comment on his resignation made to Jackson's Washington, D.C., and Chicago offices, as well as to the office of Jackson's father, were not immediately returned.

Ironically, Jackson was sent to Congress in 1995 after winning a special election triggered by the resignation of Representative Mel Reynolds, a Democrat convicted of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography.

Jackson, during his 17-year career in the House, was a reliable liberal vote, supporting increases in the minimum wage, the expansion of environmental regulations and gay rights and, in 2008, the bailout of the country's teetering financial system. He was also an early advocate of a strict timeline to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

Reacting to Jackson's resignation, most fellow Democrats sidestepped his ethics problems and focused on his years of service in Congress.

Representative Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader, said Jackson had "presented a fresh perspective on how we work together" during his years on Capitol Hill.

Representative Bobby Rush, a former Black Panther who said he remembered Jackson when he was a "child crawling on the floor" of his parents' house, urged patience.

"He hasn't been charged, indicted or convicted of any breach of the law," Rush told reporters at an afternoon press conference in Chicago.

"Give the man a chance to go through his process."

(Additional reporting by David Bailey, Nick Carey and Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Todd Eastham)

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Jesse Jackson Jr., promising political scion, resigns

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) speaks at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, in this August 25, 2008 file photo.

Credit: Reuters/Mike Segar/Files

By James B. Kelleher

CHICAGO | Wed Nov 21, 2012 5:14pm EST

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Jesse Jackson Jr. is the namesake son of one of the most prominent black men in the United States, a progressive-minded activist whose ascent into public life prompted talk of a new era of African-American political power.

In the early years, speculation swirled around the Democratic representative to the U.S. House and his appetite and ambition, almost all of it positive. Would he be the next mayor of Chicago? The next U.S. senator from Illinois?

Two years after he was elected to Congress, Newsweek magazine asked if the then 32-year-old Democrat would one day capture the prize that eluded his father, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, and become the first black president.

The sky's-the-limit speculation didn't appear to unnerve Jackson. "I grew up in a house with great expectations," he told the Chicago Tribune in 1995.

In recent years, the expectations withered and the speculation took a more sinister turn, especially after Jackson's name was linked to the political corruption scandal that brought down former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

In recent weeks, it was rumored and reported that Jackson would resign from the House in a plea deal with prosecutors.

On Wednesday, the 47-year-old's political career came to a halt. Weighed down by mental illness and the investigation, Jackson submitted his resignation to House Speaker John Boehner.

His career was book-ended by scandal. Jackson was sent to Congress in December 1995 after winning a special election to replace Representative Mel Reynolds, a Democrat forced to resign after he was convicted of sexual assault and other charges.

During a 17-year House career, Jackson was a reliable liberal vote, supporting minimum wage increases, expansion of environmental regulations and gay rights and the 2008 bailout of the teetering financial system. He was also an early advocate of a strict timeline for the U.S. exit from Iraq.

But Jackson sponsored little successful legislation and in recent years he repeatedly introduced a series of quixotic constitutional amendments guaranteeing rights he said were grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The amendments never got anywhere.

His other pet project was pushing for a third major Chicago airport - a facility opposed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and former Mayor Richard Daley. Critics considered it a boondoggle.

His fight with Daley over the airport was among the matters that led Jackson to criticize what he characterized as a "smog of corruption and cover-ups" at City Hall. He appeared to be positioning himself to run against the long-serving mayor.

But when Democrats took control of both houses of Congress in the 2006 elections, Jackson sensed opportunity in Washington and squelched talk he was interested in unseating Daley.

BORN DURING CIVIL RIGHTS STRUGGLE

Jesse Jackson Jr. was born on March 11, 1965, in Greenville, Alabama, in the middle of America's civil rights struggle while his father was marching with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from Selma to Montgomery.

He was active in his father's unsuccessful presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988. In between, he spent his 21st birthday in jail after being arrested during an anti-apartheid demonstration at the South African Embassy.

Jackson spent his 20s working for the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the rights group founded by his father. He earned a master's degree from the Chicago Theological Seminary and a law degree from the University of Illinois. Shortly after turning 30, he ran for the congressional seat vacated by Reynolds.

After an initial burst of media enthusiasm that greeted his election in 1995, his work rarely generated national headlines.

He continued, in many ways, to be overshadowed by his father, who served as an adviser to the family of President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal and then, a few years a later, admitted he had fathered a child out of wedlock.

The younger Jackson was thrust into the spotlight after Blagojevich was arrested on corruption charges.

The Illinois governor was convicted on multiple counts, including a charge that he tried to sell the Senate seat vacated by then president-elect Barack Obama to the highest bidder.

Jackson's attorney acknowledged his client was "Senate Candidate No. 5," an unnamed politician Blagojevich - in a conversation wiretapped by federal prosecutors - said had sent an emissary who promised to raise more than $1 million for the governor's campaign war chest in exchange for Obama's seat.

Jackson acknowledged his interest in the seat but denied authorizing any offer to Blagojevich on his behalf.

In June of this year, Jackson went on medical leave and has been treated twice at the Mayo Clinic for bipolar disorder, a psychological condition marked by extreme mood swings.

In recent weeks, media outlets reported Jackson had hired a lawyer to handle talks with the U.S. government on a possible plea deal to settle allegations he misused campaign funds.

(Editing by Greg McCune, Cynthia Johnston and Jim Loney)

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