Key Deadline in Jackson Jr. Investigation Passed

“The Office of Congressional Ethic’s third- and fourth-quarter 2009 reports note that ‘On September 16, 2009, the Standards Committee announced that the U.S. Department of Justice requested that the Committee defer consideration of this matter and the Committee voted to do so.’

“It also notes that the ‘Standards Committee must announce if deferral exceeds 1 year.’

“There has been no such announcement, and the committee spokesman has not returned calls for comment on the matter.

“Last year, the ethics office said it was investigating whether Jackson used public resources — in the form of his Chicago and Washington, D.C., staffs — to vie for the appointment to President Obama’s old U.S. Senate seat.

“‘Rep. Jackson may have violated federal law and House rules concerning the proper use of the member’s representational allowance,’ the panel indicated.”

Read more: (Natasha Korecki, “Ethics Panel Quiet on Jackson Probe,” Chicago Sun-Times, 09/23/2010)