Update: NBCChicago reached Alderman Sandi Jackson for comment via text message about a report that federal authorities were looking into her involvement in the misuse of campaign funds by her husband. She replied: "Don't know anything about it. Is there something new?"
The wife of embattled South Side Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., Alderman Sandi Jackson, faces the possibility of criminal charges along with her husband, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
Jackson Jr. has reportedly been working on a plea deal with the justice department for weeks for allegedly misusing campaign funds for personal use. Federal authorities were reportedly investigating if Jackson Jr. used money from his House spending account to pay for a home redecoration project, and possibly other transgressions.
The congressman won re-election on November 6, by a wide margin, despite being absent from office since early June and under the cloud of investigation.
The WSJ article cites a source close to the federal investigation into Jackson Jr. who said federal authorities have turned their attention to Sandi Jackson's role in the alleged misuse of campaign funds.
The source said no decision has been made on whether to charge Sandi Jackson, Chicago's 7th Ward Alderman, with wrong doing. Federal authorities may be looking for leverage to extract a guilty plea from Jackson Jr., he said, or to eliminate the possibility that she could act as a corroborating witness during a potential trial.
No charges have been filed against either politician.
Sandi Jackson, who is paid a $5,000 per month salary from the Jackson Jr. campaign fund, has acted as a spokesman during his convalescence from gastrointestinal issues and bi-polar depression. At one point, Sandi Jackson referred to the media as jackals for asking questions about her husband's whereabouts and plans for return.
