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Reports: Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Announces Resignation From Congress

Nov. 21, 2012 1:54pm Erica Ritz

Chicago Tribune: Rep. Jesse Jackson Junior to Resign From Congress

(Photo: AP)

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., a once-rising political star who has been on a months-long mysterious medical leave for bipolar disorder while facing separate federal investigations, has resigned from Congress, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday.

Jackson’s resignation comes just two weeks after voters re-elected him to a ninth full term and amid a continuing House Ethics Committee investigation into his dealings with imprisoned ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. There also have been reports of a new federal probe into possible misuse of campaign money.

“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 said in his resignation letter, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The letter continued: “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, whose father is civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, took office in 1995 after winning a special election. Voters in the district have said Jackson’s family name and attention to local issues have been the main reasons for their support, and he’s easily won every election since taking office. He’s also brought home close to $1 billion in federal money for his district during his tenure.

Jackson did not actively campaign for re-election, and the Sun-Times relates that he cites his health as another factor in the resignation:

Jackson also cited his worsening health, writing “over the past several months, as my health has deteriorated, my ability to serve the constituents of my district has continued to diminish.”

Jackson had planned on a press conference to announce his resignation but was not able to bring himself to speak about it because of his illness, the source said.

“A plea deal has not happened yet. He couldn’t stop crying, so he couldn’t give a press conference. He hasn’t cut a deal yet, but we are trying to get that done,” according to the source close to Jackson. [Emphasis added]

The timing of Jackson’s leave and the way it was handled has certainly invited scrutiny. The resignation was announced just after a former fundraiser connected to the Blagojevich allegations was arrested on unrelated medical fraud charges.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, now has five days to schedule an election to replace Jackson and the vote must be held within 115 days, according to election officials.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Updates have been added.

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Comments (100)

webenton
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:01pm
West defeated by corruption, Jackson wins without running or even actively serving. Which man would you want in your corner?

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- HKS
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:18pm
  Speaks tons for the intelligence of the people that voted him in again, enough said about Chicago.
  
  Report this comment
- Proverbs17-12NLT
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 4:11pm
  Re Vote
  
  Report this comment
- turkey13
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 5:35pm
  I’v always said that you could run a nut out of a nut house under the Democratic party and he would win. Here in Oklahoma a crazy white man that spent two months in jail before the election ran as a Republican and lost. Those idiots from the north calls us dumb Oakies. Our state has 6.2 % unemployment and here in the southern part of state our county is below 4%.
  
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- Jesse_J
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 6:28am
  So now they will get some other reprobate to fill that seat. Read fresh political commentary at: http://smallcraftadvisorychronicles.blogspot.com/
  
  Report this comment
- Al J Zira
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 9:29am
  Jesse: I was thinking the same thing. Now they’ll vote in the second best POS they can find that promises free stuff. Comforting.
  
  Report this comment
- Secret Squirrel
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 1:30pm
  .
  Has he announced his campaign for Mayor of Washington DC yet?
  He’s a lock.
  
  Report this comment
Jezcruzen
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:00pm
So now this piece of garbage gets to keep his pension. Every year he will collect his salary at a rate of 100%. What a bunch of crooks!

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- blackyb
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:04pm
  Maybe not. It ‘an’t’ over til it’s over.
  
  Report this comment
- BarryHusseinOsama
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:15pm
  How do we let this happen? Is there any hope left for this nation? NO. Looks like the USA has turned into one big pile of bloody flux. Corruption is running amok and no one is doing jack squat. I have a beautiful daughter and love her more than anything. But sometimes I wish I hadn’t helped bring a child into this effed up world.
  
  Report this comment
- Al J Zira
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 9:34am
  Barry: I feel you pain. I have 3 kids myself but I raised them the best I can and hopefully that’s enough. My thoughts are maybe they can make a difference later when it means most. Hope is a wonderful thing.
  
  Report this comment
TXVET48
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:58pm
Shows what liberal inbreeding does….lowers the gene pool.

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- Gonzo
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:31pm
  It’s a sad day in America when a race baiting, coke addicted, greedy politician is no longer considered fit for Congress.
  
  Report this comment
- longknifed
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 4:43pm
  Gonzo, that sounded like sarcasm.
  
  Report this comment
- Zipit
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 5:25pm
  LONGKNAIVED! I’m impressed!! Astute, yet at the same time, stupid!!!!
  
  Report this comment
hauschild
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:56pm
“Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Announces Resignation From Congress”

Oh, darn!

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- blackyb
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:02pm
  Too bad he can’t take his stupid-azzed father who is likely a contributer to the younger Jacksons’ woes with him. They both belong in jail with Obama, Jarrett, Holder and Pelosi and Reid, Farakhan, Jones, and Ayers. This is the trash that is influencing division in the United States. Get them all out and their half-witted kin.
  
  Report this comment
- QuincySmith
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 4:49pm
  Blackyb;
  
  My list would be MUCH longer.
  
  Report this comment
The-Monk
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:51pm
Looks like my prediction back when the Blago trial was happening is coming true.

My prediction? That within 1 or 2 years Jessie Jackson’s new nickname would be Jessie “Jailhouse” Jackson. LOL

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- thegreatcarnac
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 4:41pm
  It is a race between calling him ‘jailhouse Jackson’ and ‘crazyhouse Jackson’.
  
  Report this comment
GBTVFan_Non_American_Overseas
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:49pm
“….Rep. Jackson stunned many after winning re-election on Nov. 6 despite the fact that his recent battle with bipolar disorder has kept him largely out of site, in and out of the Mayo Clinic….”

1. “Stunned many”: Yes! Because he’s stoned!
2. Is not a bi-polar disorder, is drug addiction.
3. He’s not “out of site”, he is “out of the blue”.
4. It is not “In and out of the Mayo Clinic”. It’s “In and out of consciousness”.

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- OlderCowGirl
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 4:43pm
  My younger sister has a Bi-Polar disorder (from age 13, now she’s 63). There is no way Jackson can perform his governmental duties with this disorder. He’s either had this problem for many years and covered it up…or his drug addiction(s) finally pushed him over the limit in his brain. Non-stop crying is a typical symptom of being Bi-Polar. Then then go happy happy happy….then back to depression/crying.
  
  I’m wondering how he got this old before either telling someone he had his mental disorder…or he suddenly became Bi-Polar due to his drug over-use. Drugs are very dangerous (both legal and illegal) and destroy your body from the inside out. And your brain is part of your body…folks seem to forget this little fact.
  
  Report this comment
- gibbygoo56
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 8:09pm
  This is exactly what guilty and CAUGHT looks like. I’m actually kind of shocked they are going after him.
  
  Report this comment
biohazard23
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:48pm
So the meds worked, eh?

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- MDECKER
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 7:49pm
  Speaking of meds, I saw a Press conference with Bobby Rush, speaking in support of the little Jackson, didn’t Bobby Rush play Grady Wilson on Sandford and Son?
  
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Tri-ox
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:44pm
Quitter.

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- wpr17
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:03pm
  Wonder what words daddy will rhyme with loser
  
  Report this comment
RayOne
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:38pm
He was never Presidential stock, the bail-out was expected. He will be posted at a university to write his dads legacy.

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- johnpaulkuchtajr
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:55pm
  The lad must not have fully matriculated from the Richard Daley School of Corrupt Politics: but, his daddy should have learned him a trick or two.
  
  Daddy managed to avoid any repercussions at all from fathering a love child with a mistress and supporting both on funds from the Rainbow Coalition. And the piece de resistance was paying for the child’s college eduction through the same funding mechanism. Any problems from civil suits from donors or the IRS?
  
  Are you kidding me?
  
  “Remember Benghazi”
  
  Report this comment
sflamom
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:36pm
Just goes to show you… Jackson Jr. did not even campaign because he was out for so many months yet he got elected, amazing.. Voters voted him into congress because he is Jesse Jackson Jr… nothing else, idiots.

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- BarryHusseinOsama
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:10pm
  Exactly.
  
  Report this comment
taintso
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:34pm
His daddy and Sharpton can pray that no harm comes to his azz. Heard that prison doesn’t allow Boy Butter.

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- starman70
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:53pm
  Now that he has resigned, he and his dad need to move to France. Daddy could take up the cause of all the Moslems not allowed to wear their Burkas and Junior could run for political office.
  They would be welcome in France.
  
  Report this comment
Steve28
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:34pm
Most likely, since he’s black, he will get little to nothing as far as punishment.

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MCON29
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:23pm
Who in their right mind voted for this man and got him re-elected? I can assure you the majority of us downstate do NOT agree with Chicago politics and would never put a man like this in office. Nevermind, the name Dick Durbin comes to mind. My whole state sucks.

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- AvengerK
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:33pm
  It’s Chicago..I guarantee you they’d vote for him again in a heart beat if he ran. He could have “CROOK” tattooed on his forehead and run a cardboard cut out of himself appear at every town hall and he’d win in a landslide against anyone running against him. That’s how gerrymandered his district is.
  
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- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:37pm
  The idiots that voted for him deserve the kind of person that takes his place. We can only hope that whoever it is doesn’t come into the national scene like the last mistake Chicago sent us.
  
  Report this comment
- tick-tock2012
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:41pm
  Remember the crack smoking mayor of DC, Marion Barry who so eloquently stated when assked to respond to the concrete evidence showing him doing the deed on video, “Bitch set me up”. If you are a politician with a “D” behind your name, especially a black politician, you are guaranteed a 95% vote from your base, and in Jesse’s case, a guaranteed reelection.
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 3:38pm
  @tick-tock2012
  “Remember the crack smoking mayor of DC, Marion Barry…”
  
  Yep, I went to a co-workers house for a party in DC and he was there (about 1977)
  
  He was smoking pot and snorting lines.
  
  Report this comment
taintso
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:21pm
If the black community really wanted to better themselves the would also shun his father and Al Sharpton.

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lwilli201
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:20pm
What is the big deal, Chicago has hundreds just like him to take his place.

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HKS
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:18pm
A mega looser liberal doing what liberal looser’s do, “nothing”. They Can even hold a job as long as they don’t have to do anything. This one is so bad he can’t even hold a government job and they do nothing anyway.

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The_Almighty_Creestof
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:13pm
He’s going to be the Belle of the Ball when he gets to prison and the other inmates learn he is “bi”…hehe.

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- MFHorn3
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:22pm
  Jr. will get an opportunity to “press the flesh” with many of his constituents at Joliet Correctional Institution.
  
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progressiveslayer
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:09pm
The FBI must of had a lot on the shakedown artist to force him to resign,too bad they didn’t have enough to bring down his criminal dad as well.

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- The_Almighty_Creestof
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:15pm
  I think he was hoping Obama was going to lose to Romney…and could get a last minute pardon from the prez on his way out the door.
  
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FreeToBe
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:08pm
Good to hear. Makes my day!

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Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:02pm
Here is the deal he was offered…..Mr Jackson, either you resign, or you will become Blago’s roommate, girlfriend, and hairdresser.

Jesse Jr: I ain’t going no where until I get disability and my retirement.

FBI: Uh, it’s either resign or jail. That’s your choice.

Jesse Jr: I WANT MY BENEFITS!!!!!

FBI: Prisoners get benefits, Mr Jackson, you can have TV privilages and make license plates.

Jesse Sr.: Son, to quote our Vice President, Joe Biden….”They gonna put you in chains, fool”

Jesse Jr.: OK, I tell you what I am going to do, I am going to resign.

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MFHorn3
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:01pm
It would be too difficult to vote on important legislation from his soon-to-be prison cell, so he is resigning.

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USPATRIOT101
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:01pm
Must have something he wants hidden.

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65Mustang
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:01pm
Couldn’t happen to a more insulting family..take daddy out as you go.

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Popp40
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 1:57pm
He must have gotten his pension…..just goes to show you politicians have their own set of rules….

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SREGN
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 1:57pm
The son has more sense than the father. At least he knows he’s unfit to lead.

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- naughtycal
  Posted on November 21, 2012 at 2:06pm
  This truely shows EVERYONE how ignorant and racist the DNC voters truely are……THEY RE-ELECTED Jesse while he was ina mental institution,and pleaing to STEALING campaign funds.
  Over a sane honest Republican candidate…..It also shows that WE NEED VOTING REQUIREMENT LAWS
  
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- 1947
  Posted on November 22, 2012 at 5:53am
  His ROLEX honey wanted MORE
  
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