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Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s mother, Jacqueline Jackson, told a Rainbow/PUSH conference Friday that her son has suffered years of “enormous disappointment.” “I’m not ashamed to say ... he thought he was going to be a senator. He thought he was going to have a chance to run for mayor. And young people don’t bounce back from disappointment like me and my husband,” she said.

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s mother, Jacqueline Jackson, told a Rainbow/PUSH conference Friday that her son has suffered years of “enormous disappointment.” “I’m not ashamed to say ... he thought he was going to be a senator. He thought he was going to have a chance to run for mayor. And young people don’t bounce back from disappointments like me and my husband" she said. . . .

Under pressure to reveal where he is and what his “ailments” may be, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s doctors released a statement Wednesday night saying he is being treated for a “mood disorder.” But the statement is unlikely to dampen the speculation about the Illinois Democrat’s mystery medical ordeal, considering the statement gave few details. The release, sent out by the lawmaker’s spokesman, did not identify his doctor’s name nor the facility at which he is being treated. The statement read: “Information regarding the Congressman’s treatment is protected by federal law under the privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and...

Medicaid probes Planned Parenthood fees By Andrew L. Wang July 09, 2012 The Illinois Medicaid inspector general is investigating the billing practices of the medical director of Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Crain's has learned. Dr. Caroline Hoke was reimbursed more than $3 million by Medicaid during the state's 2009 fiscal year, making her the program's second-highest-paid doctor at the time, but the payments fell to zero by 2011, Crain's analysis of state records shows. The state Department of Healthcare and Family Services has withheld payments to Dr. Hoke until “billing issues” are resolved, a DHFS spokesman confirms. He declines to...

The mystery surrounding Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., deepened on Tuesday as speculation swirled around the Illinois Democrat’s health and political future. Democratic sources say Jackson — who has not been on Capitol Hill since June 10 — may not return to the House until after the August congressional recess. Jackson’s office said in a June 26 statement that the lawmaker was suffering from exhaustion and would take a “medical leave of absence” to receive treatment for the condition. No date has been given for Jackson’s return, and Democratic lawmakers and aides now believe it could last weeks or even...

Rep. Jackson's condition 'more serious' than thought, getting in-patient treatment By Daniel Strauss - 07/05/12 11:56 AM ET Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), who took a leave of absence from Congress, is suffering from a medical condition more serious than "initially believed," according to a statement from his office. The nine-term lawmaker is receiving "in-patient" treatment for "certain physical and emotional ailments," the statement noted. It did not provide additional details about his illness or how long he would be absent from Capital Hill. "Congressman Jackson's medical condition is more serious than we thought and initially believed," Jackson spokesman Frank...

The story of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s severely diminished prospects for becoming a real force in Chicago politics essentially begins and ends at 312, a restaurant across the street from City Hall. That’s where the Democratic congressman and a top aide sat at a sidewalk table on a sunny day in August 2005. They barely touched their lunches, working their cellphones for the latest news on then-Mayor Richard M. Daley’s announcement that federal agents had questioned him. Jackson ultimately balked at challenging Daley, but a little more than three years later, he was at 312 again. This time, the...

Staffers for Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., son of an African-American icon and the subject of a House ethics investigation, said today they do not know when their boss will return to work after announcing that he has quietly been on a leave for the past two weeks because of "exhaustion."... "On Sunday, June 10th, Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. went on a medical leave of absence and is being treated for exhaustion. He asks that you respect his family's privacy. His offices remain open to serve residents of the Second District," read a statement from his office. Asked if staffers...

Does U.S. Rep.Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Bud Light, have any skin left on his teeth? He sure does have nice teeth. Straight and smiley political teeth. Teeth with ample surface area so a politician could grow enough skin on them to help him escape disaster. But there can't possibly be any skin there, not on the front two, now that Raghuveer Nayak, his former fundraiser, BFF and the midwife to Triple J's U.S. Senate dreams was arrested and hauled into federal court Wednesday.

. . At last summer’s Blagojevich retrial, prosecutors had a distinct way to refer to the wealthy businessman: He was “the bribe guy,” who in 2008 allegedly offered millions of dollars to Rod Blagojevich’s brother in exchange for appointing Jackson Jr. (D-Ill) to Obama’s vacant Senate seat. . . For the last several years, Nayak had been the aching thorn in Jackson’s side after Blagojevich was heard on tape saying that Jackson’s emissary — Nayak — offered what Blagojevich believed was a $1.5 million offer in exchange for the Senate seat. Jackson has repeatedly and vehemently denied he authorized anyone...

The House Democrats pushing for a steep hike in the minimum wage could face an unlikely foe: their own leadership. Behind Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (Ill.), almost two dozen liberal Democrats endorsed legislation this week to raise the federal minimum wage immediately from $7.25 to $10 per hour, the first such increase in three years. The lawmakers think they’ve found a winning issue in an election cycle that’s featured the rise of the Occupy movement, criticism of Mitt Romney’s path to wealth and a class-centered fight over the Bush-era tax rates. But no Democratic leaders have endorsed the measure, and...

Democrats in House of Reps. joined J Street in supporting Obama administration's attempt to force Israel into making painful concessions Seventy-four Democrats in the House of Representatives have joined the dovish J Street organization in supporting the Obama administration's attempt to force Israel into making painful concessions to the Palestinian Authority. “In our view, support for a two-state resolution is inseparable from such support for Israel, its special relationship with the United States, and its very survival as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people,” the letter said. Seven Jewish members signed the letter, including Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), John...

Jesse Jackson Jr. faces no small challenges in his re-election run in the Congressional 2nd District. According to a Jackson surrogate, speaking at a news conference Monday, Satan is behind the opposition. Between 40 and 60 ministers on Monday joined Jackson to endorse his re-election campaign. They're prepared for a fight, and Pastor Willie James Campbell even denounced the "satanic forces" that want to defeat their man. Satanic forces could be aligned against the congressman in some ethereal space, but here on earth Jackson Jr. has real problems. On one hand, opponent Debbie Halvorson has given Jackson some of the...

Pelosi endorses Rep. Jackson for reelectionBy Jordy Yager - 02/18/12 12:24 PM ET Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) has endorsed Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), whose reelection bid has been plagued by an ethics investigation. Pelosi joins President Obama and several other top Democrats in their endorsement of the Chicago lawmaker as he goes up against former Democratic Rep. Debbie Halvorson (Ill.) in a fierce primary battle next month. Though Halvorson has raised only one-fifth the amount of money that Jackson has, she has waged a relentless campaign against the incumbent lawmaker, frequently pointing to the House Ethics Committee’s ongoing...

The House Ethics Committee may be probing a second allegation that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) broke House rules, according to the Chicago lawmaker. Jackson, speaking before the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board on Monday, vehemently denied any wrongdoing, saying that a campaign donor’s purchase of a plane ticket for a woman he had an extramarital affair with, though at his behest, did not break the chamber’s rules. “[It was] not a personal benefit to me, I don't believe, under the House rules. A benefit to the person for whom he bought the ticket. He didn't buy tickets for me. Did...

Yesterday, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison for, among other things, attempting to "sell" the US Senate seat that was once held by President Barack Obama. Blagojevich's punishment comes on the heels of the U.S. House Ethics Committee's decision to continue its investigation into Congressman Jesse Jackson's role in the same scheme. On December 2, the House Ethics Committee announced that it was continuing its investigation of Jackson for his alleged public campaign to "buy" the Senate seat in question. It is alleged by investigators that Jackson may have made unlawful use of...

Jesse Jackson Jr. cited Obama Senate seat deal By: John Bresnahan December 2, 2011 10:57 AM EST Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., (D-Ill.) was willing to trade campaign donations for appointment to the Senate seat being vacated by Barack Obama, according to a just-released report from the Office of Congressional Ethics. OCE also found “substantial reason to believe” that Jackson violated federal law and House rules by using his House office to “mount a campaign” to be appointed to the seat by the then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, now awaiting sentencing on federal corruption charges. The OCE report was released on Friday...

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., drew heavy criticism from fellow Democrats and his Republican colleagues for demanding President Barack Obama suspend the U.S. Constitution and declare a national jobs emergency. Jackson told The Daily Caller last week that the president should use "extra-constitutional" authority to resolve the employment crisis by creating jobs outside of the normal legislative process. His comments drew immediate criticism from his primary opponent as well as other members of the House of Representatives. Former congresswoman Debbie Halvorson, Jackson's Democratic opponent in next year's primary election, said he has failed to introduce a jobs bill during his...

The House Ethics Committee announced Tuesday afternoon that it would resume its inquest into Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.’s role in possibly attempting to purchase the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama. A statement on the committee’s website notes that the chairman of the committee, Alabama Republican Rep. Jo Bonner, and the ranking member, California Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez, “have jointly decided to extend the matter.” The probe into Jackson’s involvement was initially deferred due to a request by the Justice Department. That request was withdrawn after former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was found guilty of corruption in June....

For most of the Obama administration, we only had to worry about the economic destruction he was fomenting. Now the threats and actions are becoming physically violent. It’s getting scary out there. Forget about running guns to Mexican drug cartels via “Fast and Furious.” Most of the people killed with those guns were Mexican, and they were doing a lot of that even before the Obama administration got into the business of adding to their arsenals. But now we have Democrats, like North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue telling us that maybe we should forgo elections for a few years. Others,...