Chicago Tribune reporter Rick Pearson discusses the resignation of Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.). (Posted on: Nov. 21, 2012.)
Rep. Jesse Jackson resigned from Congress Wednesday, saying in a letter that he is cooperating with a federal investigation "into my activities" but blaming his health problems for his decision to step down just two weeks after his re-election.
Jackson's letter to House Speaker John Boehner was his first acknowledgment of the ongoing corruption probe into his alleged misuse of campaign dollars.
"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 the two-page letter dated Nov. 21. "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."
Despite his admission of "my share of mistakes," Jackson said his deteriorating health was the reason he was quitting. He has been on medical leave since June while receiving treatment for bipolar depression.
"Against the recommendations of my doctors, I had hoped and tried to return to Washington and continue working on the issues that matter most to the people of the 2nd District. I know now that will not be possible," Jackson said in the letter.
"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 as a member of the United States House of Representatives, effective today, in order to focus on restoring my health," Jackson wrote.
The congressman could not be reached.
Hours after the letter was submitted, Jackson's attorneys -- including former federal prosecutor Dan Webb -- released a statement saying any "resolution" of the federal probe could be months away.
“Mr. Jackson is cooperating with the investigation," the statement read. "We hope to negotiate a fair resolution of the matter but the process could take several months. During that time, we will have no further comment and urge you to give Mr. Jackson the privacy he needs to heal and handle these issues responsibly.”
Jackson has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for alleged improprieties related to his bid to win appointment in 2008 to the Senate seat that had been held by President Barack Obama.
A Jackson emissary is alleged to have offered to raise up to $6 million in campaign funds for disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for the governor appointing Jackson to the Senate seat. Blagojevich is serving a prison term for corruption convictions including trying to sell or trade the Senate seat.
Jackson, 47, won election this month while being treated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. and issued a statement on election night saying he would return to work once his doctors approved.
"Once the doctors approve my return to work, I will continue to be the progressive fighter you have known for years," said Jackson, no longer a patient at Mayo. "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."
He has not appeared in the House since June 8. Nor did he stage a campaign event -- or even run a TV ad. Jackson advanced to the general election after defeating a one-term member of Congress, Debbie Halvorson, in a March primary.
The next Congress will be sworn in Jan. 3 and Jackson would have been required to take the oath of office before being allowed to vote.
News of the resignation on the eve of Thanksgiving, when Congress was not meeting and many Washingtonians were traveling, seemed to take even Jackson staffers by surprise.
His press secretary, Frank Watkins, said Wednesday morning that he didn’t know anything about a possible resignation. Watkins attributed the rumors to press speculation.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement that she had spoken to Jackson and his father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, earlier in the afternoon.
“As he works to address his health, our thoughts and prayers are with him, his wife Sandi, his children as well as his parents," she said in a statement. "We are grateful to him and his family for their longstanding record of public service to our country.”
The House adjourned Friday and reconvenes at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Protocol calls for Jackson's letter to be placed before the House on Tuesday and his resignation noted then, an official said. Normally the House has 435 members, but there is now one vacancy, so Jackson's will be a second.
Under Illinois law, Gov. Pat Quinn, a fellow Democrat, would call a special election to fill Jackson’s 2nd District congressional seat, which extends from Chicago’s South Side to Kankakee. Quinn said he will set up an election schedule within five days in a “manner that is fair to the electorate and as economical as possible for taxpayers.”
Cook County Clerk David Orr said his goal is to set up the special elections on the same days as the Feb. 26 primary and April 9 general elections for municipalities in the state, a move that would save money and voter confusion.
But Orr said he may have to go to federal court or seek relief from state lawmakers headed back to Springfield next week to allow the special elections to be coordinated with municipal elections.
The heart of the issue is timing. Special elections are supposed to be held roughly within 115 days of a vacancy, but Jackson resigned a few days too early to fit within the time period of the two municipal elections already scheduled.
It could cost taxpayers more than $5 million to hold the special congressional primary and general elections separately from the municipal elections, according to Rupert Borgsmiller, executive director of the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Another factor that complicates the matter is that the state has not officially certified the election results overall, and Jackson’s victory would not become official until Dec. 2, Borgsmiller said.
Though Jackson handed in his resignation letter Wednesday, the question is when does the vacancy take place for the new term he just won for two years beginning in January, Borgsmiller said.
“We’re in a holding pattern,” Borgsmiller said.
Jackson's resignation, long suspected by political insiders, set off a scramble with as many as a dozen names of potential successors already surfacing. They range from political has-beens to up-and-comers in the south suburban district.
Jesse Jackson Jr. resigns, acknowledges federal probe
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Jesse Jackson Jr. resigns, acknowledges federal probe
