As ex-U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) attempts a comeback more than a decade after he resigned from Congress and was convicted on corruption charges, one of his financial contributors is a south suburban politician who’s under investigation for the same type of campaign-finance misconduct that sent Jackson to prison.
State Rep. Thaddeus Jones — who doubles as the mayor of Calumet City — gave $500 to the Jesse Jackson Jr. for Congress committee in August, according to a disclosure report recently filed with the Federal Election Commission.
A 2022 subpoena from the U.S. attorney’s office to the Illinois State Board of Elections sought information on Jones’ campaign funds as part of a criminal investigation that sources say remains active and centers on the potential misuse of campaign money.
A Democrat, Jones has spent nearly $400,000 on legal fees from his campaign funds since they were subpoenaed, including more than $50,000 so far this year, records show. It’s unclear how much of that was related to the investigation.
Jones, whose lawyer declined comment, was among a group of Jackson allies to push him to run in the Democratic primary in March to reclaim his old U.S. House seat representing a South Side and south suburban district.
Jackson held that seat for 17 years, until resigning in 2012 amid mental health challenges and ethics investigations. He pleaded guilty the following year to improperly using his campaign money for personal expenses.
Robin Kelly succeeded him, but she’s leaving the post to run for the U.S. Senate seat of retiring U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.)
Jackson’s campaign fund raised more than $90,000 over the last few months, with a $3,500 contribution coming from a New Yorker named Chris Rock. Jackson’s campaign says that is the actor-comedian, though he couldn’t be reached for comment.
A YouTube video shows Rock interviewing Jackson’s father, the ailing Civil Rights leader and minister Jesse Jackson Sr., some years ago for a TV show Rock was hosting, and telling the elder Jackson about his unsuccessful runs for president: “The first time I ever voted was for you, first time I ever thought about voting was for you.”
Other contributions came from:
- Larry Rogers Jr., a Loop attorney and an elected Cook County Board of Review commissioner who made donations totaling $7,000.
- State Rep. Will Davis’ campaign fund, which gave Jackson’s fund $3,500.
- John Rogers of Ariel Investments, who gave Jackson’s fund $3,500 and has been a prolific campaign donor to other political figures over the years, including former Mayor Richard M. Daley whose job Jackson once coveted.
- James Meeks, the retired Salem Baptist megachurch pastor and ex-state senator who’s long been close with the Jacksons. He contributed $1,000.
Jackson wouldn’t come to the phone, but his spokesman John Digles said Jackson “believes deeply that, if you’ve been through the criminal justice system, taken account for your actions, and paid your debt to society, it is wrong for others to continue to judge or label you.”
“In his view, it is wrong of the Chicago Sun-Times or anyone else to try to marginalize those who have a legal right to participate in the political process.”
Numerous people from outside the district that Jackson wants to represent were among those to give him money. Among them: Atlanta lawyer Tricia “CK” Hoffler, who gave Jackson’s campaign $1,000 in September. Her biography says she’s served as counsel to Jackson’s father and his Rainbow PUSH Coalition organization on the South Side.
A Homewood Democrat, Davis said it was an easy call to support Jackson, for whom he worked “for five years before I was elected.”
Davis said: “I’ve been a supporter of second chances, opportunities for individuals” to contribute “once they pay their debt to society.”
Critics say Jackson has still never fully acknowledged his wrongdoing, which included buying luxury items with his campaign money such as a Rolex watch.
While details of the investigation into Jones aren’t known, the Sun-Times reported in 2014 that he’d made 90 campaign expenditures over five years totaling nearly $9,000 at a south suburban Hooters, part of a national chain known for waitresses in tight outfits.
State Sen. Robert Peters of Chicago, another candidate in the primary, raised roughly $277,000 over the last few months. Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller of Lynwood raised more than $240,000. State Sen. Willie Preston of Chicago raised about $80,000. Yumeka Brown, an elected official in Matteson and on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board, raised nearly $60,000.
