Much of Chicago and a goodly portion of the nation’s capital are grappling with questions of why Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) has been out on medical leave for a month with no explanation of where he is and what he’s suffering from.
Most of the colleagues with whom he serves in the House of Representatives who’ve been asked said they have no idea of what the problem might be.
“Rep. Jackson’s office first indicated on June 25 that he was taking a ‘medical leave of absence’ and that he had been gone since June 10,” said the Huffington Post. “The reason initially given was ‘exhaustion,’ but since then, his staff has said that he checked into an in-patient medical facility at an undisclosed location and that his condition is more serious than originally thought.”
Later, without being more specific, the 47-year-old congressman’s office said he is struggling with “physical and emotional ailments” worse than what was previously thought.
His father, civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, during an appearance on a local Chicago NBC affiliate station, said it was inappropriate to ask about his son’s medical condition.
“No, that’s inappropriate,” he told the questioner. “I speak as a father. During this pain, as he comes out of his crisis, we will be with him. And we hope that he’ll be fully restored to his health. Right now, he’s going through a tremendous challenge.”
The congressman’s wife, Sandi Jackson, the alderman from Chicago’s 7th Ward, met with the media recently but would divulge nothing concerning where the congressman is or what he’s suffering from.
“I think it’s important to say that I love my husband very much,” she said during the news conference. “As a wife, my primary concern is that of my children. I just want to make sure that they are taken care of and provided for, and we’re just going to continue doing the good work that we’re doing here in the city of Chicago.”
The Rev. Jackson said Tuesday that his son is ‘slowly regaining his strength’ and is ‘taking his time and recovering,’” the Huffington Post reported.
