Chicago district disappointed in ex-congressman

Topics: From the Wires, ,

Chicago district disappointed in ex-congressmanFormer Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his legal team arrives at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. Jackson and his wife were to appear in federal court to answer criminal charges that they engaged in an alleged scheme to spend $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Credit: AP)

CHICAGO (AP) — For more than a decade, residents in former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.’s district were extremely loyal, giving him an enthusiastic majority each election since 1995.

And they did so through ethical troubles, reports of an extramarital affair and a bizarre five-month medical leave.

But Jackson’s guilty plea to charges that he lived off and lavishly spent campaign money for personal use has turned the tide.

In territory where it was difficult to scrape up criticism of Jackson, his Chicago alderman wife or his famous civil rights leader father, the mood is now simply one of disappointment.

Court documents say Jackson spent $750,000 in campaign money on everything from toilet paper to mink capes.

Jackson, who resigned in November, will be sentenced in June.

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