Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. speaks in robocall: ‘I am human. I’m doing my best’
/After more than four months of silence, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. asks constituents for patience and says he’s “anxious to return to work,” in a robocall to his 2nd Congressional District Saturday, reported by Chicago radio station WBEZ, but gave no timeline on when he’d get back to work.
This is the first time many of Jackson’s more than 500,000 constituents have heard from him since taking a leave of absence in June to undergo medical treatment.
The son of civil rights leader and former presidential candidate Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. said in late June that he took a leave of absence for treatment of exhaustion, however his congressional office later confirmed that he was being treated at the Mayo Clinic for bipolar disorder. His office said on Sept. 7th that he had been released from the Mayo Clinic and would be recovering at his Washington, D.C. home, but not returning to work.
“Like many human beings, a series of events came together in my life at the same time and they’ve been difficult to sort through,” Jackson said on the robocall recording posted on WBEZ’s website. “I am human. I’m doing my best. And I am trying to sort through them all,” he said.
Jackson’s wife, Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson, and his representatives have repeatedly said he will continue to run for re-election in the 2nd District. With less than two and a half weeks until election day, Jackson hasn’t campaigned yet, but political analysts say he is a shoo-in to win in the heavily Democratic district that he’s served for nearly 18 years.
This statement was issued less than a week after Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. was accused of misusing campaign money and drinking with women who weren’t his wife at a Washington, D.C. bar. Additionally, Jackson’s message came just days after the Illinois congressman told The Daily he is “not well” in his first interview since he undertook an extended leave of absence.
