Politics

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. resigns

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Illinois Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. announced his resignation today in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner.

“We received the letter,” Boehner spokesman Michael Steel wrote in an email to The Daily Caller.

Jackson has been on medical leave in treatment for bipolar depression since June and is under investigation for misuse of campaign funds.

“I am doing my best to address the situation responsibly, cooperate with the investigators, and accept responsibility for my mistakes, for they are my mistakes and mine alone,” Jackson said in the two-page letter. “None of us is immune from our share of shortcomings or human frailties and I pray that I will be remembered for what I did right.”

The congressman, liberal activist Rev. Jesse Jackson’s son, won re-election this cycle though he did not campaign.

According to CBS Chicago Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn must now announce a date for a special election — which must occur within 115 days of the resignation — in 5 days or less.

The news was first reported by the Chicago Tribune.

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