Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. announces campaign for old seat
Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Illinois) on Wednesday officially launched his campaign for a return to his Second Congressional District seat.
In a new campaign video, Jesse Jackson Jr. said he chose Wednesday to launch his campaign in honor of the 84th birthday of his father, legendary civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.
"I'm responding to a draft movement to enter this race," former Rep. Jackson said in the video. "Like my father before me, I ask for your vote as a vote for a new direction for this district."
The disgraced former congressman was first elected to the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election in December 1995, replacing Rep. Mel Reynolds — who had resigned after being convicted of sexual assault.
In Congress, Jackson in particular championed a plan for a third Northern Illinois airport in Peotone in Will County, along with an economic development plan to create jobs. He was a star figure in Chicago area politics — and half of a power couple along with his wife, Sandi Jackson, who was elected as a Chicago alderman representing the 7th Ward in 2007.
Rep. Jackson was often talked about as a possible successor to Mayor Richard M. Daley if the mayor ever decided to retire. But well before Daley did retire, Jackson's political stardom began to crash.
The cracks first became evident when Jackson's name was associated with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's plan to see then-President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat in 2008. While Jackson was never charged with anything associated with that scandal, federal authorities did charge that Blagojevich tried to obtain $1.5 million in campaign cash in exchange for appointing Jackson to the seat.
Blagojevich was convicted following two corruption trials in 2011. Jackson maintained that he did nothing wrong and said he did not authorize anyone to offer Blagojevich campaign money. But he did face a Congressional ethics probe into the Blagojevich allegations and for allegedly using his congressional staff to campaign for the Senate seat publicly.
Jackson also came under the spotlight around that same time for an affair with a Washington restaurant hostess. He denied spending public money on the tryst, and was never charged in that scandal either.
In November 2012, Jackson resigned from his seat in Congress, citing health reasons, as he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder the previous summer. But Jackson also acknowledged upon his resignation that he was the subject of a federal probe.
In February 2013, Jackson pleaded guilty to misusing $750,000 in campaign funds — spending the money as a personal slush fund.
His purchases included a $43,000 gold-plated Rolex watch, and memorabilia involving pop star Michael Jackson, civil rights leaders Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and martial artist Bruce Lee. Jackson and his alderwoman wife also allegedly spent tens of thousands in campaign cash to pay off personal credit card bills, and to purchase airfare, children's furniture, vacations, electronics, home appliances, groceries, and clothing.
Sandi Jackson also pleaded guilty to filing false income tax returns, failing to report about $600,000 in income.
Rep. Jackson went on to serve 23 months in custody, including about three months in a halfway house, and another three months on home confinement.
Sandi Jackson served 11 months in prison after Jesse Jackson Jr. was freed. The couple divorced in 2018.
In December 2024, Rep. Jackson's father, civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., wrote to then-President Joe Biden asking for a pardon for his son and former daughter-in-law.
In seeking a pardon from Biden, the elder Jackson noted that both Jesse Jackson Jr. and Sandi Jackson pleaded guilty to their crimes and have already completed their sentences, including paying full restitution.
Jesse Jackson Jr. was not pardoned.
He has launched a campaign website announcing that he is exploring a run to return to Congress, in which he is held up as "a fighter for social justice, committed to creating more equity and opportunity for all. Jesse Jackson Jr. was the visionary who championed a third regional airport in the Chicago Southland and advanced a bold economic development plan to create thousands of jobs."
The Second Congressional District seat is currently occupied by Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Illinois), who herself is running for U.S. Senate to replace the retiring Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois).
Jesse Jackson Jr.'s brother, U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Illinois), represents the First Congressional District.