Jesse Jackson Jr. deserves a pat on the back. After having an affair with a waitress, being Candidate #5, and resigning from Congress due to his bipolar disorder and ongoing federal investigation 15 days after being elected, it’s hard to remember the once-promising political candidate he was; a rising star in Chicago, Presidential material, even. He tried, right? It’s not his fault all of these “false” scandals broke out! But, to quote Cassius, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
At the tender age of 30 Jesse Jackson Jr. was first elected into Congress in 1995. According to The Huffington Post, a special election was held, due to the fact that Mel Reynolds was being convicted of several heinous crimes; including: criminal sexual assault, child pornography, wire fraud, and lying to the Federal Election Commission. Ironically enough, Reynolds is running for United States House of Representatives to represent Illinois’s 2nd Congressional District: The seat that Jackson just resigned from; the seat he once held. Before Congress, Jackson’s name was known, thanks to his father: Reverend Jesse Jackson. Despite Jr.’s attempt to distance himself from his father, his Congress seat was most likely thanks to his work as a national field organizer for his father’s organization, Rainbow PUSH. Jr. was also known for his ambitions to create a third airport for Chicago, much against the mindsets of Governor Richard M. Daley, and later, Governor Rod Blagojevich.
Years later, TIME Magazine’s Steven Gray asserted Jackson was among “the Illinois state senator’s most vigorous supporters.” He was a co-chairman for both Obama’s Senate race in 2004 and his presidential campaign in 2008. Jackson was adamant about his desire to have President Obama’s State Senate seat, in which he left empty in 2008 after winning his first presidential term. His visible determination to succeed him in the Senate, probably didn’t help Jr.’s December 2008 case when Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich claimed that Jackson—Candidate #5 (out of six)—had proposed to raise as much as $1 million in campaign funds for the governor in exchange for the seat. However, as The New York Times affirms, Jackson met with federal prosecutors and was assured that he was no longer a target of the inquiry nor alleged of misconduct. In a personal statement Jackson specified, “I did not initiate or authorize anyone at any time to promise anything to Governor Blagojevich…I never sent a message…to the governor to make an offer, to plead my case or to propose a deal about a U.S. Senate seat…I thought, mistakenly, that the process was fair, above board and on the merits…that the governor was evaluating me and other Senate hopefuls based upon our credentials and qualifications.”
Jackson isn’t out of the water yet; According to another TIME reporter, Kyle Trygstad; in April of 2009, former Gov. Blagojevich’s emissaries claimed that Jackson offered not $1 million, but $5 million. Shortly after this, Emma Graves Fitzsimmons for the New York Times quotes the Chicago Sun-Times, asserting that Blagojevich’s fund-raiser, Raghuveer Nayak, told authorities Jackson “wanted Mr. Blagojevich to know that he would help him raise $6 million.” Not only another million, but also that Nayak had paid for two different airline trips for Jackson’s mistress (a Washington waitress), which were not claimed as gifts on Jackson’s fiscal reports. Jackson Jr. accused of raising $6 million for another candidate’s election, but that he is also cheating on his wife; and it’s been confirmed by Alderman Sandi Jackson in a CNN interview that the latter was true. Who’s to say the former isn’t?
Now this is where it gets interesting. In March, The Associated Press reports that Jackson won the primary election against former Representative Debbie Halvorson effortlessly, serving Congress for his ninth term. However, relatively shortly after winning the primary, on June 10th, Jackson takes medical leave; conspicuously, he doesn’t tell anyone until two weeks later on June 25th. Interestingly, a former fund-raiser for Blagojevich—possibly Nayak—was charged and arrested with unrelated federal medical fraud. Jackson cites his reasons for leaving as exhaustion, yet a few weeks later on July 6th, his officials state he will be receiving in-patient treatment. A month after his medical-leave-statement, Mayo Clinic releases a revealing testimony, confirming that Jackson is receiving in-patient treatment at their hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, for depression and gastrointestinal issues; which may have been brought on from his weight loss procedure done eight years ago in 2004. Finally, less than a month after their last, the New York Time’s Steven Yaccino publishes Mayo Clinic’s final announcement on August 13th that Jesse Jackson Jr. has bipolar II disorder. At Jacksons’ request, Mayo Clinic reported, “Many Americans have bipolar disorder. Bipolar II disorder is a treatable condition that affects parts of the brain controlling emotion, thought and drive and is most likely caused by a complex set of genetic and environmental factors.”
While Congressmen Jackson is still on absence, recuperating in Washington, D.C. with his family and also at the Mayo Clinic facility in Minnesota, selling his house, another plot-twist appears in his life. Two month’s later, on October 16th; Michael Schmidt and Monica Davey collaborated to report that federal are investigating Jackson for the possible misuse of campaign money. The Washington FBI began their investigation before Jackson went on medical leave, but political experts believe neither his lack of presence in Congress since June nor this latest scandal will affect Jackson’s chances of winning re-election in November, because: his name and his father’s name are widely known in Chicago, his opponents are virtually unknown, and this would be his 10th term. Besides, he’s a good guy with good intentions, right? Thus, when November 6th rolls around, it comes to no shock that Jackson won his 10th term in Congress, earning 63% of Democratic citizens of the South Side of Chicago. While Jackson was still in Minnesota at Mayo Clinic, Davey broadcasts his statement, “Once the doctors approve my return to work, I will continue to be the progressive fighter you have known for years. My family and I are grateful for your many heartfelt prayers and kind thoughts. I continue to feel better every day and look forward to serving you.”
While it’s obvious that Jackson would win his 10th term, it’s equally plausible to understand what he does next: resign. After the past four year’s of hell he dealt with, it’s understandable. His final statement, released by The Associated Press and Davey, quotes, “The constituents of the (2nd) District deserve a full-time legislator in Washington, something I cannot be for the foreseeable future. My health issues and treatment regimen have become incompatible…I am aware of the ongoing federal investigation…and I am doing my best to address the situation responsibly, cooperate with investigators and accept responsibility for my mistakes, for they are my mistakes and mine alone. None of us is immune from our share of shortcomings or human frailties and I pray that I will be remembered for what I did right.” Jackson’s colleagues are wounded by his early resignation, but not shocked. “He sounded in so much pain,” remarked Representative Bobby L. Rush of Illinois after speaking with Jackson. Local Chicagoans aren’t as sympathetic, however; if he wanted to resign, he should have two weeks earlier and, as The Huffington Post claims, saved his town essentially $5.1 million. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has set the special election date for March 19th, and—if necessary—a primary election for February 26th. Pastor Corey Brooks, Mel Reynolds, and even Sandi Jackson are rumored to be running for the special election. Though Jackson does not cite the ongoing federal investigation on both he and his wife—for potentially using campaign money to furnish their home—as a reason for resigning, Alex Bruns of PBS wrote, “While Mr. Jackson did not cite the investigation as a reason for his departure, legal experts said his resignation might help lawyers argue for leniency, given that he has already paid a significant penalty: his job.”
Jesse Jackson Jr. deserved a pat on the back. He had good intentions; but was (possibly) corrupted by the cliché Chicago political scene, and utterly inundated by his uncontrollable, blameless psychological problems. A tragic hero. A Brutus. On my way out of the Harold Washington Library, I asked a security guard (who always berates me, mind you) what he thinks about the resignation of one of our Congressmen. “Jesse Jackson Jr.?” he looks at me and asks, and cannot help but throw back his head and laugh.
