By SOPHIA TAREEN
Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was reunited with family members in Washington D.C. on Monday after leaving a halfway house where he’d been living since his release from an Alabama federal prison in March.
Jackson, a Chicago Democrat, was released from the Volunteers of America halfway house in Baltimore in the morning and left in one of two black SUVs that were there for him. He traveled to his home in Washington, where family members say he’s expected to stay.
Jackson must spend three years on supervised release under jurisdiction of the U.S. Probation Office and complete 500 hours of community service.
“He’s doing really well,” said Jackson’s father, civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson. “He’s close to permanent release. He is emotionally and physically strong. His family is delighted and so are we.”
The former congressman’s children attend school in Washington. At some point, it will be his wife’s turn to serve out her punishment on a related conviction. A Chicago-based attorney for former Chicago alderwoman Sandi Jackson didn’t immediately have a comment.
The elder Jackson has said he didn’t know when his daughter-in-law would have to report to prison. She was sentenced to a year in prison for filing false joint federal income tax returns that knowingly understated the income the couple received. In a concession to the couple’s two children, a judge allowed the Jacksons to stagger their sentences, with the husband going first.
Jesse Jackson Jr., an Illinois Democrat, moved into the halfway house from prison, where he was serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence for spending $750,000 in campaign money on personal items. He pleaded guilty to one felony fraud count in February of 2013 and began his sentence in November.
Jackson served in Congress from 1995 until he resigned in November 2012. In June 2012, he took medical leave for treatment of bipolar disorder and other issues.
The Jacksons spent campaign money on fur capes, mounted elk heads, a $43,350, gold-plated men’s Rolex watch and Bruce Lee memorabilia, as well as $9,587.64 on children’s furniture, according to court filings.
Jackson’s resignation ended a once-promising political career that was tarnished by unproven allegations that he was involved in discussions to raise campaign funds for imprisoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for an appointment to President Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat. Jackson has denied the allegations.
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