Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. remains ahead in polls even in his absence
Congressman suffering from severe bipolar disorder
Despite battling mental illness and being absent from his job in Congress and his current campaign, Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. is still the favorite to win reelection on Nov. 6
More than three months have passed since Jackson, 47, a Democrat first elected in 1995, dropped out of public sight. It was later revealed that he was hospitalized for severe depression and gastrointestinal problems.
According to his wife, Sandi Jackson, Congressman Jackson has no plans to step aside.
“He is on the ballot and he’s going to stay on the ballot,” Sandi Jackson said. “And I’m looking forward to him coming back to work after his re-election. No last minute switcheroos. He would never do that and I would never want that for him.”
Though he still seems to be doing well in the polls, some constituents are beginning to grow wary that Jackson may not be able to adhere to his duties as congressman because of his illness. But, aside from the fact that the 2nd Congressional District is heavily democratic, Jackson’s two rivals on the ballot also lack both name recognition and campaign cash.
Republican challenger Brian Woodworth, 41, says he is getting no financial help from the national GOP and has spent only $11,000. Independent Marcus Lewis, 53, says he expects his campaign to cost $3,500. Jackson, according to his most recent report, had nearly $250,000 in campaign money at his disposal.
Sandi Jackson said she isn’t sure what form of communication her husband will use to reach out to the voters before Election Day, if he is able to at all. “We’re talking about what can be done and when, but I don’t have an answer to that,” she said.
The wife of former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who stepped down amid health concerns and investigations into financial improprieties, has also resigned her seat in government.
Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson stepped down from the City Council on Jan. 15, said a letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Friday. She has held the seat since 2007.
African Americans have been the most rapidly advancing oppressed people in the history of the world, according to some major historians. To come from brutal and hard slavery, with virtually no legal basic human rights, to rise to lawmakers, local leaders and ultimately the presidency of the United States of America within a 400-year span is a feat surpassed by few, if any other people.
The very beginnings of the SCLC can be traced back to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, whicy began on December 5, 1955 after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a White man on the bus. The boycott lasted for 381 days and ended on December 21, 1956, with the desegregation of the Montgomery bus system. The boycott was carried out by the newly established Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). Martin Luther King, Jr. served as president and Ralph David Abernathy served as program director.
Much of Chicago and a goodly portion of the nation’s capital are grappling with questions of why Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) has been out on medical leave for a month with no explanation of where he is and what he’s suffering from.
Most of the colleagues with whom he serves in the House of Representatives who’ve been asked said they have no idea of what the problem might be.
Los Angeles, CA - There is no such thing as an overnight success. Barack Obama didn’t just magically appear in a puff of smoke.
Exploring the strategy of his climb to the top can be as intoxicating as following the historical paths of the Underground Railroad, the Civil Rights movement and other pivotal events.
Like the “yellow brick road,” with it’s twists and turns; witches and farmers; heartless and brainless, the journey eventually led to the Emerald City. Or, in Obama’s case, the White House in Chocolate City.
