'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Help wanted: Gun-control campaign workers. That's the advertisement that's being circulated by Progressive USA Voters, a liberal group based in Denver, Colo., for its planned campaign for Chicago, one media outlet reports.
For most of my life I lived in Illinois, and I still follow the state's politics despite the fact that I relocated to Arizona last summer. The latest political scandal involving former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is only one in a long list of political scandals in Illinois ("Jesse Jackson Jr. pleads guilty: Obama and Emanuel have no comment," Web Communities section, Saturday). Perhaps I should not be surprised, but I refuse to become that cynical.
Voting on bills and resolutions is a member of Congress' most basic duty, but only 10 of its current 535 lawmakers represented their constituents on every vote last session.
How is it that New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is taking part in our election to replace Jesse Jackson Jr. by touting one of the candidates ("Bloomberg to dump $2M into Chicago race to defeat gun advocate Halvorson," Web, Sunday)? This is just more New York influence, like the ineffective police chief Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has hired, who is being hamstrung by the gangs of Chicago, or New Yorker Gabe Klein showing Mr. Emanuel how to cause gridlock by installing bike lanes on our busiest thoroughfares.
In a spectacular fall from political prominence, former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife agreed Friday to plead guilty to federal charges growing out of what prosecutors said was a scheme to use $750,000 in campaign funds for lavish personal expenses, including a $43,000 gold watch and furs.
Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was officially charged Friday with illegally spending $750,000 in campaign funds for personal use, while his wife was charged with filing false income tax forms.
Embattled former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois has agreed to plead guilty and faces possible jail time as part of a deal with federal authorities investigating accusations he misused campaign money, Chicago news outlets reported Friday.
An exclusive by the Chicago Sun-Times has revealed a plea deal involving "significant jail time" is now on the table between former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and federal officials concerning a misuse of campaign funds.
The wife of former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. — who resigned his congressional seat in November, after facing fire from federal investigators along with ailing health — is now in the midst of her own federal inquiry.
Congress is ushering in the new and the old — dozens of eager freshmen determined to change Washington and the harsh reality of another stretch of bitterly divided government.
While Mr. Jackson claims to take responsibility for his wrongful actions (though I sense he is using his bi-polar disorder to distract people and/or evoke their sympathy), I cannot help but shake my head at the fact that he disappeared from public life for months last year and then somehow won re-election anyway last November.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Jackson voters share blame for Illinois disgrace →
"Over the course of my life I have come to realize that none of us are immune from our share of shortcomings and human frailties," Mr. Jackson said in the statement released by his attorneys after the federal probe was announced.
