When Will Jesse Jackson Jr. Return? No One's Telling

Jesse Jackson Jr.'s spin machine continues.

Today's edition: No one knows when he'll be back, even if the congressman gets re-elected.

"I believe at some point in time he will come back," Ald. Sandi Jackson told reporters Wednesday. "I don't know whether that will be before the election or after the election, but whenever that happens, we will welcome him."

Such vague reports have become commonplace since the congressman disappeared this summer. Jackson Jr. went on medical leave in June for unknown reasons and it wasn't until weeks later that his office confirmed he was being treated for bi-polar disorder at the Mayo Clinic.

On Wednesday, the congressman's wife wouldn't get specific about a return date. She said her husband is "hanging on" and seeing a doctor two to three times a week.

When asked how she responds to voters who wonder whether they'll hear from their congressman, Sandi Jackson asked for their patience.

"I hope he will be able to do that," she said. "I know that he is anxious to do so. He is also under doctors' orders to stay very calm, very quiet, and he's going to do that."

Jackson Jr. remains on the November ballot but has not returned to work in Washington or, publicly, in Chicago.

Contact Us