Report: Jesse Jackson Jr. Wants Disability Pay

As apparent plea negotiations continue regarding the charges against Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr, reports have surfaced that the Congressman wants something in exchange for agreeing to resign from Congress:

 CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -Sources tell FOX 32 News that Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is willing to give up his 2nd Congressional District seat if he’s given disability when he steps down.

Jackson Jr. was re-elected to his tenth term but last month, sources say, he applied for a disability package–what could be his only income if he resigns. It is expected to take a couple of weeks for Congress to approve or deny the request.

His house on 72nd Street in Chicago is part of the federal government’s investigation into allegations that Jackson Jr. misused campaign funds. Sources say Jackson allegedly spent $20,000 to renovate and buy furniture for the family’s home in Chicago, not their 5-bedroom Victorian home in Washington D.C.

The basement in the Chicago home has five televisions and a number of printers and copying machines, sources say. Most of the equipment was purchased in the mid-90’s when Jackson was first elected, but because of flooding a couple of years ago, most, if not all, was replaced.

(…)

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the congressman’s wife, Alderman Sandi Jackson, is now being investigated because she is a consultant for Jackson’s campaign operation and is paid monthly. Sources say that the alderman met with the Justice Department one time and was asked a couple of questions unrelated to any federal investigation involving her or her husband.

A Rolex watch is also part of the case against the congressman. Our sources say that the federal agents want to know where Jackson got $42,000 to pay for the watch he purchased for the woman he was having an affair with.

I believe the appropriate word here would be chutzpah.

FILED UNDER: Congress, US Politics, , , , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Rafer Janders says:

    Oh my god! Disability pay! He’ll literally be rolling in money, on the order of about, oh, $2,000 a month! He’ll be rich as Croesus!

  2. @Rafer Janders:

    Congressional Disability Pay is far more generous than SSDI

  3. Ogrrre says:

    Impoverish the corruptocrat! Confiscate all his property and wealth, and let him mooch off his old man instead of the taxpayers. If he wants disability, let him get a real job and work for a living for 10 to 20 years (after he gets out of prison), and then, IF he has become disabled, he can apply for it and go through the same process as anyone else.
    As for his offering to resign, the House can expel the SOB if they want to, without his resigning. I hope the Republicans in the House can grow a set of testicles, and the Democrats in the House can actually do their duty, and expel the criminal.

  4. lankyloo says:

    He’s not as bad as Todd Stroger, the former president of Cook County, who applied for unemployment after he lost reelection. I wish I was joking.

  5. bill says:

    why bother resigning, he’ll be re-elected for eternity whether he shows up to work or not. it’s chicago……

  6. mike says:

    A $42k watch? Good thing he isn’t paying that woman to sleep with him.