Jesse Jackson Jr. | |
|---|---|
 official portrait, c. 2007 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 2nd district | |
| In office December 12, 1995 – November 21, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Mel Reynolds |
| Succeeded by | Robin Kelly |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jesse Louis Jackson Jr. March 11, 1965 Greenville, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | [1] |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Jesse Jackson (father) Jacqueline Brown (mother) |
| Relatives | Santita Jackson (sister) Jonathan Jackson (brother) |
| Education | North Carolina A&T State University (BS) Chicago Theological Seminary (MDiv) University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (JD) |
Jesse Louis Jackson Jr. (born March 11, 1965) is an American politician. He served as the U.S. representative from Illinois's 2nd congressional district from 1995 until his resignation in 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the son of activist and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson and, prior to his career in elected office, worked for his father in both the elder Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign and his social justice, civil rights and political activism organization, Operation PUSH. Jackson's then-wife, Sandi Jackson, served on the Chicago City Council. He served as a national co-chairman of the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign.[2] Jackson established a consistent liberal record on both social and fiscal issues,[3] and he has co-authored books on civil rights and personal finance.
In October 2012, Jackson was investigated for financial improprieties including misuse of campaign funds. Jackson resigned from Congress on November 21, 2012, citing mental and physical health problems, including bipolar disorder and gastrointestinal problems. On February 8, 2013, Jackson admitted to violating federal campaign law by using campaign funds to make personal purchases.[4] Jackson pleaded guilty on February 20, 2013, to one count of wire and mail fraud.[5] On August 14, 2013, he was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.[6][7] Jackson was released from prison on March 26, 2015.
- ^ O'Connell, Patrick M. (April 13, 2018). "Jesse Jackson Jr., Sandi Jackson reach settlement in contentious divorce case". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- ^ Dvorak, Blake (January 9, 2008). "The PM Line". Time. Archived from the original on January 10, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
IHJLJwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Rafferty, Andrew (February 8, 2013). "Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. admits to campaign finance violations". NBC News. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
- ^ Schmidt, Michael S. (February 20, 2013). "Jackson Pleads Guilty to Wire and Mail Fraud". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
- ^ "Jesse Jackson Jr. sentenced to 2½ years". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
- ^ Devlin Barrett (August 14, 2013). "Former Rep. Jackson Sentenced to 2½ Years". wsj.com.