Jesse Jackson, Jr. plea deal likely to include resignation, jail time

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-Ill. / Charles Dharapak

Just days after winning a handy reelection to his Chicago-area district, 17-year Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-Ill., has entered negotiations for a plea deal that would include his resignation from Congress and likely jail time.

Jackson, Jr., the son of civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., and husband to Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson, has not yet pleaded guilty to alleged misuse of campaign funds to decorate his house and purchase a $40,000 Rolex watch for a female friend. But CBS Chicago reports the congressman's lawyer, white-collar criminal defense attorney Dan Webb, is negotiating with the federal government a plea bargain that will likely be reached by year's end.

• Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. "not well," he says
• Jesse Jackson, Jr. "completely debilitated by depression," wife says

The tentative deal includes Jackson, Jr.'s resignation from Congress for health reasons, a "guilty" plea involving misuse of campaign funds, and repayment of any contributions that were converted to personal use. At least some jail time is expected. Jackson, Jr.'s pension, which would pay out between $65,000 and $80,000 a year when he turns 62, is also part of the talks.

Webb, who served as Chicago's top federal prosecutor during the 1980s, helped strike a plea deal for the late Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill. Rostenkowski got 17 months in jail after pleading guilty to converting a congressional postage allowance into personal money, but was allowed to keep his $126,000-a-year pension for the rest of his life.

Jackson, Jr. has been on medical leave of absence since June for treatment of bipolar depression. He has been back and forth between Minnesota's Mayo Clinic and his Washington, D.C. home.

[crashdvis]

First, nice job not reporting any of this until after the election. Way to do your jobs news folks! Second, even if you had reported it, it wouldn't have mattered in Jackson's district. They would vote for a mannequin if the mannequin had a (D) after it's name...

[linderisreal]

Like father like son. What goes around comes around. The apple never falls far from the tree. The sins of the father. Anybody else want to join in...

[tater27]

At what point is the black community going to wake up and stop electing people because of name or skin color. I dont think its "racist" to vote for someone of the same skin color because you like him, but at what point does black America stop electing these criminals?

[Scola2]

Jackson is corrupt and was a poor choice for Congress. However after, for example, Duke Cunningham took $2.4 million of bribes did you say "At what point is the white community going to wake up and stop electing people because of name or skin color." If electing someone who steals $40k can indict an entire race, what does $2.4M buy you?

Corrupt politicians are corrupt politicians, regardless of race.

[sharons11157]

When we white people vote, it's not because of race, it's because of what the person says they can do, so stop with the race thing. Plum ridulous!

[Scola2]

I hate to interject facts but to all the "hey, it's Chicago, they're all corrupt" only a bit under 40% of his district is in Chicago. The rest is comprised of suburbs and even rural Kankakee County.

Further, Jackson's signature issue over the years has been pushing for a new airport in Peotone, in a rural part of Illinois far south of the city of Chicago. In this he's continuously butted heads with the leadership in Chicago who favored O'Hare expansion and renovation. At the same time it helped him gain friends and influence with the Republican establishment in the suburbs near O'Hare who opposed O'Hare expansion.

Politics is complicated, and leads to strange bedfellows.

That said, the guy is corrupt as sin.

[RickyTick123]

Wonder if he will be turning in his Illinois FOID (Firearm Owner' ID Card) now that he is seeking psychiatric counselling? Guess he is only anti-gun when it concerns everyone else's rights.

[txdesignrat]

VALWAYNE, don't be so melodramatic. You and me both knew that every politician of any party who can be elected to any level of any government in and including Chicago is dirty, sleazy, corrupt, and believes him or herself to be untouchable.

[apeach4u]

they get that much pensions for the rest of their life. wow..... no wonder washington needs so much money! talk about government too big... it is too expensive and they want to cut measley little and benefits sosial security for blue collar workers. who is really getting welfare and food stamps, I ask you. what is wrong with this picture?

[Black saint]

All politicians that come out of that corrupt sewer of Chicago are Corrupt, including The One!

[ladyday61]

Get over the sour grapes.

[rideR65-LS]

I have known Jesse Jackson since the 60's and never trusted him to be on the up and up and it shows even down to his off-spring that they are more corrupt than the ones they accuse of corruption, because these holy-do-gooder dirt-balls prey on the poor and their donations as well as the donations of the interested wealthy, and especially the upper middle-class left-wingers, what a big farce that whole stinking crew is, wish and hope that he gets to see where his brothers are in prisons and what a scoundrel they are, but again it all boils down to the people who put him into office and the community that never chacked on job qualifications and competency

[sharons11157]

I SO agree!

[PhoenixBuckeye]

I bet he is depressed.... about getting caught.

[sharons11157]

That would be all it is, sad that he was caught.