Free Republic

Speculation is rife over who would be appointed to fill Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat should the Illinois Democrat be elected president, observers say. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, would make the call on who would succeed Obama in the U.S. Senate if the party's likely presidential nominee wins the White House in November. One name mentioned is U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., the Chicago Tribune quotes Congressional Quarterly as saying Saturday. Jackson is the son of the U.S. civil rights leader Jesse Jackson Sr. and represents a district on the South Side of Chicago. He is national...

“it is now the Congress’ obligation and responsibility to intervene in the executive process”

CHICAGO President George W. Bush commuted the 2 1/2 year sentence of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former White House aide convicted in a CIA leak scandal. As CBS 2’s Katie McCall reports, there was negative reaction in Illinois to the announcement Monday. ”Since the president has intervened in this process, it is now the Congress’ obligation and responsibility to intervene in the executive process and begin an inquiry into these very serious crimes against the constitution of the United States,” said Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Chicago). Jackson says this time the president went too far. After word that Bush commuted...

Brent Bozell's culture column this week deals with Opie & Anthony's sick XM shock-jock routine about raping Condoleeza Rice (and raping Laura Bush "to death.") You may not be shocked, but Al Sharpton made no attempt to express his outrage at the XM sickos in defense of this black woman, despite how this routine is so much worse than the Don Imus "ho" comment... Rev. Al Sharpton showed up to debate May 15 on the CNN Headline News program "Showbiz Tonight." But he didn't say a single word against Opie and Anthony or one word in defense of Condi Rice....

Two Democratic congressmen who could have mounted formidable challenges to longtime Mayor Richard Daley announced Thursday that they will not run for mayor next year because of their party's new found power in Congress. The power shift on Capitol Hill bodes well for both Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr. and Luis Gutierrez. "More than any time since I took my initial oath of office, I am excited, eager, and downright giddy about the prospects in Washington," said Jackson, the son of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson. "In short, Tuesday's election made for a big night, and a new day." Jackson said...

With dozens of protestors shouting nearby, Mayor Richard Daley gave an impassioned speech today to explain why he vetoed the big-box ordinance. Standing at the site of a proposed Target store on the Far South Side, Daley said no one protested when large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target opened in the suburbs. "Not one person objected to any type of store in the suburban area," Daley said. "No one said, 'Mayor, you're wrong. No one said the aldermen are wrong. No one said the community (was) wrong, or church leaders. Only in the West Side, only in the South...

Jesse Jackson Jr. announced Wednesday that he is exploring a run for mayor of Chicago and said it is "more likely than not" that he will enter the February contest. While he complimented Mayor Richard Daley, a fellow Democrat, for doing an "extraordinary" job in some ways, Jackson said: "What I'm hearing from the people is that it's time for a change." The 41-year-old son of civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson said he would make up his mind after the November congressional election. He is up for re-election to the seat he has held for 11 years. Daley...

Supporters of Jesse Jackson, Jr. for Mayor Study a Black-Brown Base Coalition. Note: Since these details have not been released before, I’d appreciate it if major news media, bloggers or others who wish to comment on it give credit to the following: www.tomroeser.com. Seeking to call around to get your own copy so as to circumvent credit would not be ethical. Thanks. Supporters of Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. for mayor of Chicago in 2007 have engaged a comprehensive ballot strategy for building what they call a "Black-Brown Base Coalition" which would weld African American and Hispanic voters into a democratic...

"Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., said too much focus has been placed on the looting, taking away from what should be the priority: getting food, water and stability to the tens of thousands of displaced victims."

Illinois congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. is making a political power play in his fight to get a new airport for Peotone. Jackson says if Mayor Daley will back the Peotone plan he may not run against Daley in the race for mayor. Congressman Jackson is in the mayor's face every time another City Hall corruption scandal breaks, and Jackson is definitely considering a challenge to Daley in 2007. But Jackson says his top priority is to get a new airport built near south suburban Peotone, and he considers Daley an impediment. So, the congressman is offering the mayor a strategy...

- CHICAGO -- Congressman Jesse Jackson Junior says if a massive voter registration drive worked for Harold Washington in his 1983 run for mayor, it can work in 2006 and beyond for the Democrats. Jackson Jr. and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition will work to register new voters. But Jackson won't say if it is a prelude to a run for mayor of Chicago. Jackson (D-Ill.) stressed that his goal was to help all Democrats. Nonetheless, he announced the registration drive moments after drawing comparisons between today's political landscape and the landscape in 1983, when Harold Washington was first elected mayor of...

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. reiterated Saturday he has no desire to run against Mayor Daley in 2006 (my note, the next mayoral election is in 2007) but didn't rule out the possibility in the future. "I have no plans to run for mayor. I only have plans to run for Congress again in 2006," Jackson said in a speech at the Rainbow/PUSH headquarters focusing on the legacy of the late Mayor Harold Washington. Afterward, Jackson said, "I have not authorized any voter registration drives in my name. I have not set up any exploratory committees. . . .so you'll...

The mayoral challenger Richard M. Daley fears most took another baby step toward City Hall on Friday. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) came out swinging about the seemingly endless parade of City Hall contracting scandals under Daley and about the deafening silence coming from a City Council Jackson views as under Daley's thumb. What set Jackson off this time, apparently, was James Duff's bizarre attempt to plead guilty for an alleged minority business fraud scheme that deprived legitimate black-, Hispanic-, and women-owned businesses of $100 million in contracts. But that clearly was not the only scandal on Jackson's mind during...

Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. had a surprising message on Tuesday for Democrats who might prefer to continue grousing over last week's election. "The election is over," the Illinois Democrat told WWRL Radio's Steve Malzberg and Karen Hunter. "George Bush is the next president of the United States. And we need to rally behind the commander in chief and move the government and the business of the people forward." To be sure, Rep. Jackson offered plenty of criticism about the election - recommending that the Electoral College be abolished and calling for uniformity in voting regulations. But when it came to...

Lawyers from around the nation gathered in Chicago on Saturday to gear up for attempts to suppress minority voter turnout during the Nov. 2 presidential election. At Rainbow/PUSH Coalition headquarters on the South Side, voter advocacy groups -- including the League of Women Voters and the National Bar Association -- stressed at a news conference that voters must know their rights. The strategy session was called to mobilize poll-watcher teams in key states for the showdown between Republican President Bush and Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. While much of that effort will send attorneys to observe voting in swing...

"I am a Christian.... So, I have a deep faith. I'm rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people. "That there are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there's an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived." Thus, U.S. Senate candidate for Illinois Barack Obama in a campaign contribution by Chicago Sun-Times columnist Cathleen Falsani. Obama's...

Misquoted on Obama I emphatically deny making the comments attributed to me in Friday's Sun-Times [''Is Jesse Jr. jealous of Obama's ascent?'']. I am proud of Barack Obama, and I lauded his speech publicly and privately everywhere I went in Boston. Specifically, I said it was ''I Have a Dream''-esque; the caliber of a Martin Luther King Jr. speech. It was historic and of epic proportions. As a friend and supporter of Barack's campaign, I have never said anything negative about him. Indeed, I share campaign offices with him. We are on billboards together. We cut radio and television spots...

Butch Wing recalled the moment 20 years ago when Rev. Jesse Jackson showed up in Portsmouth Square in San Francisco's Chinatown. "I remember seeing 60-, 70- and 80-year-old Chinese men and women who speak very little English saying, `Run, Jesse, run. Win, Jesse, win,'" said Wing, a Chinese-American peace activist from Berkeley, Calif., who first met Jackson in 1983, when Jackson launched his first presidential bid. Jackson's "ability and desire to reach out to us" and other once-marginalized activist groups changed politics in America, Wing said Saturday at a reunion of members of Jackson's election team. That get-together came on...

December 11, 2003 — Mel Reynolds returns to politics after nearly a decade in exile. He resigned from congress after his conviction on sex charges. Thursday -- he announced his plans to reclaim his seat in the House of Representatives Mel Reynolds admits he made mistakes and paid the price. But he claims to have been a better congressman than the man who replaced him, Jesse Jackson Junior. As he displays a staggering number of signatures on his nominating petitions, indicating the race is for real, Reynolds is asking the media to be as tough on Jackson as they've been...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Howard Dean's presidential campaign defended his record on minorities Tuesday after rival Al Sharpton resurrected a 1995 Dean comment that affirmative action should be based "not on race, but on class." In a statement, Sharpton responded to the news that Democratic Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr., planned to endorse Dean for president, sharply criticizing the former Vermont governor's record on affirmative action and gun rights. "Howard Dean's opposition to affirmative action, his current support for the death penalty and historic support of the NRA's agenda amounts to an anti-black agenda that will not sell in communities of...

CHICAGO, Oct. 27 — Representative Jesse L. Jackson Jr. said Monday that he would soon endorse Howard Dean for the Democratic presidential nomination, telling a mostly black audience on the South Side of Chicago that Dr. Dean had "the best chance to be the next president of the United States." "I'm not wasting my time with any more non-straight-talking candidates," Mr. Jackson said in introducing Dr. Dean, a former governor of Vermont, to a group of about 150 people at Chicago State University. "I've seen him stand up for health care," he said. "I've seen him stand up for students....

Tough Choice: Jesse Jackson Jr. or Sex Offender Voters on the South Side of Chicago will face an agonizing decision in next year's primary election: re-elect Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. or bring back his predecessor, Democrat sex offender Mel Reynolds. Reynolds lost his congressional seat in 1995 after he was convicted of sexual misconduct, child pornography, obstruction of justice relating to an affair he had with a minor, bank fraud and lying about misuse of campaign money. He spent five years in the slammer until Bill Clinton, urged by "spiritual adviser" Jesse Jackson Sr. as well as Jesse Jr., pardoned...

Voters on the South Side of Chicago will face an agonizing decision in next year's primary election: re-elect Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. or bring back his predecessor, Democrat sex offender Mel Reynolds. Reynolds lost his congressional seat in 1995 after he was convicted of sexual misconduct, child pornography, obstruction of justice relating to an affair he had with a minor, bank fraud and lying about misuse of campaign money. He spent five years in the slammer until Bill Clinton, urged by "spiritual adviser" Jesse Jackson Sr. as well as Jesse Jr., pardoned him. "He's still listed on the state...

Black Chicago is attempting to take back the Illinois Senate seat held for one term (1992 - 1998) by Democratic Presidential candidate Carole Moseley-Braun. The arithmetic says State Senator Barack Obama is the man to beat in a crowded Democratic primary field, newly enlivened by Republican incumbent Senator Peter Fitzgerald's decision, last week, not to run for another term. Blacks comprise about one-third of Illinois Democrats. Chicago politics is nothing if not "fluid." Moseley-Braun rode to victory on the strength of a massive Black and Hispanic voter registration and get-out-the-folks campaign in 1992, then spent six uneventful years dissipating the...

<p>BOSTON (AP) President Bush does not have the authority to launch a military invasion of Iraq without a congressional declaration of war, according to a lawsuit expected to be filed in federal court in Boston on Thursday.</p> <p>Six members of Congress, three U.S. servicemen and the parents of other U.S. military personnel said on Wednesday they would file the lawsuit that claims any U.S. invasion of Iraq without congressional authority would be unconstitutional.</p>

Jesse Jackson Jr. spoke at Cornell College (note: NOT Cornell University) last Friday as part of the annual Small-Thomas Lecture Series. I cannot provide a link because although this small town paper has a web site (Mt. Vernon-Lisbon Sun), this particular article was not on the site. However, I wanted to highlite a quote provided in the story about the lecture, he said this later as he addressed 3 classes at the college:"I'm smarter than George Bush. I've eaten with George Bush and there are people in this room smarter than George Bush. If I had been in office, I...