By Kristen McQueary, Southtown Star, September 20, 2009
For years, U. S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. stood eagerly in front of microphones, crucifying the Chicago City Council and Mayor Richard Daley over their blase attitude toward corruption.
"For the last six years, we've read and seen nothing but corruption, greed and malfeasance throughout much of city government," Jackson said in 2006. "A mismanaged affirmative-action program, a Hired Truck scandal, an asphalt kickback scheme and a major Colombian drug connection with dealers selling drugs while on the public payroll."
He toyed with the idea of running for mayor, saying he was determined to "change the culture of corruption in Chicago, and that will require rooting out waste, fraud and abuse, root and branch."
How ironic that Jackson (D-2nd) was included on last week's "Most Corrupt Members of Congress" list, compiled annually by the nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. He joins U.S. Sen. Roland Burris, who also made this year's report.
Jackson's "stature" on the list came one day before an announcement from two of Washington's formal ethics bodies, the Office of Congressional Ethics and the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, that they would temporarily halt their inquiries into Jackson at the behest of the U.S. Justice Department.
The Justice Department was concerned the two bodies' probes into Jackson's conduct might disrupt federal prosecutors' own case against Rod Blagojevich - and anyone who participated in an alleged bribery scheme to secure the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama, a.k.a. Jackson.
Got all that? It ain't pretty.
While Jackson has asserted he did nothing improper - he told me in February that Blagojevich always was "wheeling and dealing and trying to extract something" from everyone with whom he came in contact - the Justice Department's request last week proved Jackson is not off the hook. Not at all.
In fact, the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent board on which Abner Mikva sits, revealed it also was exploring Jackson's use of congressional resources during the time he lobbied for the U.S. Senate appointment. Between Obama's election Nov. 4 and Blagojevich's arrest Dec. 12, Jackson ramped up his efforts to win the Senate appointment.
News clips from that time show Jackson met with at least one newspaper editorial board. He commissioned a poll to test his popularity. He helped kick-start a south suburban rally during which dozens of Southland mayors endorsed him. And his district spokesman, Rick Bryant, attended a Nov. 6 press conference during which Blagojevich outlined his prerequisites for the appointment.
Bryant came to the event with stacks of news releases touting Jackson's credentials. Weeks later, Jackson's chief of staff, Ken Edmonds, when I contacted him at his Washington office, said Jackson had not spoken directly with the governor "but the congressman is looking forward to the opportunity to do so."
At the time, more than a dozen hopefuls were scrambling to be considered, including U.S. Reps. Luis Gutierrez, Jan Schakowsky and Danny Davis.
Even Rahm Emanuel, then a congressman, too, was on the phone with Blagojevich discussing the appointment, federal tapes revealed.
So the question is, how seriously will the congressional bodies punish Jackson over the issue of congressional resources? It's pretty explicit that members of congress are supposed to spend their time on issues that serve constituents, not appointments to other offices. The rules outline specific use of fax machines and office paper, for crying out loud.
But I wouldn't predict more than a stern reprimand over Jackson's conduct, even though he most certainly bent rules. I remember feeling the sense of desperation from his camp as he threw himself so brazenly into contention and onto Blagojevich's lap.
Did he do more campaigning than Schakowsky or Davis or Gutierrez? Probably.
But then how culpable are U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who also inserted themselves deeply into the selection process?
The use-of-staff issue is peanuts compared with the larger question Jackson faces of whether he agreed to raise money for Blagojevich in exchange for the appointment. You hardly could argue Jackson would have lifted a finger for the former governor for any other reason. The two didn't speak for four years - until the seat vacancy forced conversations.
For now, Jackson is on the outside of that "reform" bubble. He's feeling the sting of swirling questions. Washington is a lonely place for the shunned.
He probably could use a hug, like the ones he sought during the Democratic National Convention last summer. Remember the spontaneous love fest during the Illinois delegation breakfast? When Jackson hugged U.S. Reps. Bobby Rush and Debbie Halvorson and then called to the audience, "Who else out here has been mad at me?"
Daley reached over and gave him a bear hug. Jackson crumpled into tears.
Pressure will do that.
Maybe now Jackson knows how it feels.
http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/42454
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