Just six months after former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, former Chicago Alderman Sandra Stevens Jackson, pleaded guilty to federal charges related to campaign fund abuse, the couple found out their fate: prison sentences for each of them.
Jackson had pleaded guilty to felony counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and false statements. Jackson admitted to using more than $750,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses including cruises, expensive dinners, and a gold Rolex watch worth $40,000. The crime was characterized by the government as one of the largest cases of theft from a campaign treasury ever prosecuted.
Jackson was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. After his sentence, he will be subject to three years of supervised release and 500 hours of community service. Sentencing guidelines for his crimes call for prison time in the range of 46 to 57 months; Jackson received some consideration for his mental illness, which has been described as bipolar depression.
Ms. Jackson had pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns in connection with the same campaign fund and underreporting nearly $600,000 in tax. She received a lighter sentence than anticipated, likely a nod to the fact that she has two minor children at home. Sentencing guidelines for felony tax fraud call for jail time of up to 18 to 24 months and a fine of $4,000 to $40,000 yet she received just one year in prison. The length of her sentence ensures that she will not be subject to early release and after her prison term, she will also be subject to 12 months of supervised release.
Jackson had asked that his family, including his children, not suffer because of his actions. However, Judge Amy Berman Jackson said that prison was necessary for the couple because otherwise, it would look like there two systems of justice: “one for the well-connected and one for everybody else.”
As a nod to their family, however, the Jacksons will be allowed to serve their sentences one at a time instead of simultaneously. Jackson Jr. will go first, by request.
The 47-year-old son of civil rights activist, Jesse Jackson, had represented Illinois’s 2nd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 until his resignation in 2012. His wife, Sandi Jackson, formerly served on the Chicago City Council.
