1995 Illinois's 2nd congressional district special election
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The congressional election in Illinois's 2nd congressional district on December 12, 1995, resulted in the entry to Congress of Jesse Jackson Jr. as a Democratic Party representative, a position he held until 2012.
The election was a special election made necessary by the resignation from Congress of Mel Reynolds. In the preceding Democratic Party primary held on November 29, Jackson defeated Emil Jones by a margin of 48% to 39%; there were three other candidates. In the general election, Jackson won 76% of the vote against 24% for the Republican candidate, Thomas Somer.
Jackson's candidacy
Upon his election, Jackson announced his aspirations for his constituents: "I too have a dream...that one day the
South Side of Chicagoand the south suburbs will look like the North Side of Chicago and the northwest suburbs."
โJackson, 1996[1]
Jackson's wife
When
Jackson's campaign
As part of his campaign he was the only candidate to embrace the third Chicago airport proposal being championed by Jim Edgar at the time.[9] The proposed airport in Peotone, Illinois was in Will County and was outside of the congressional district (which then was entirely contained in Cook County), but with thousands of jobs that would result nearby, his region would be a large beneficiary.[11] Jackson estimates the airport could bring the region nearly a quarter million jobs and with the multiplier effect on the economy the region would benefit by a half million jobs.[12]
One of Jackson's most lasting memories from his first election came during a bipartisan televised debate. During Jackson's positive campaign, he had emphasized that his district would be better off keeping Jones in office at the state capital in
Democratic primary
| Ward/Township | Jones | Palmer
|
Jackson
|
Davis
|
Morrow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 12 | 8 | 33 | 4 | 1 |
| 7 | 1,254 | 684 | 2,486 | 112 | 13 |
| 9 | 2,444 | 360 | 3,044 | 149 | 14 |
| 10 | 386 | 141 | 367 | 14 | 3 |
| 15 | 294 | 151 | 783 | 25 | 3 |
| 16 | 57 | 11 | 124 | 11 | 1 |
| 17 | 1,256 | 306 | 2,729 | 141 | 13 |
| 18 | 1,376 | 312 | 2,398 | 167 | 3 |
| 19 | 225 | 70 | 280 | 16 | 0 |
| 21 | 2,490 | 414 | 3,432 | 336 | 4 |
| 34 | 4,973 | 460 | 4,911 | 248 | 12 |
| City Totals | 14,767 | 2,917 | 20,587 | 1,223 | 67 |
| Bloom | 1,596 | 757 | 1,231 | 39 | 54 |
| Bremen | 1,786 | 510 | 1,973 | 53 | 41 |
| Calumet | 990 | 111 | 502 | 19 | 6 |
| Rich | 1,352 | 914 | 1,479 | 38 | 30 |
| Thornton | 3,513 | 1,127 | 4,174 | 141 | 54 |
| Worth | 94 | 7 | 67 | 6 | 0 |
| Suburban Totals | 9,331 | 3,426 | 9,426 | 296 | 185 |
| Overall Total | 38,865 | 9,260 | 50,600 | 2,742 | 319 |
Jackson won the democratic party primary and since the district is overwhelmingly Democratic, he was the favorite for the special
On the eve of the election, Gore attended a Jackson address.[15] Jackson was campaigning in a district where his father was well known.[7] During this campaign, his lone controversy was the fact that his salary as field director the Rainbow Coalition had been subsidized by the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, which was accused by a Senate investigating committee of having ties to organized crime.[7] Nothing ever came of those accusations.
The special general election
Jackson won the general election of December 12, 1995 against Republican
After being elected in the special general election, Jackson was one of many congressional politicians who received a donation from John Huang although Jackson did not know Mr. Huang. Jackson's donation was unexplained. Many recipients felt compelled to return the donations as a scandal erupted involving the true source of the funds.[22] Eventually there was a Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Department of Justice interrogation of Mr. Huang concerning irregularities which seemed to relate to Jackson and Bill Clinton.[23] Mr. Huang's $1,000 contribution to Jackson's campaign was within legal limits and Jackson attributed Mr. Huang's desire to contribute to the national media attention his campaign's positive message received.[24]
References
- ^ a b "Illinois". Time. Time Inc. November 4, 1996. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ Chicago Magazine. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
- ^ a b Jackson and Watkins, p. 38.
- ^ "Life After Mel". Time. Time Inc. September 5, 1995. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ Johnson, Dirk (August 24, 1995). "In Congressman's District, Conviction Evokes Regret". The New York Times. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ "Jesse Jackson's Son to Run for House Seat". The New York Times. September 10, 1995. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e "Jesse Jackson Jr. Wins Primary in Chicago". The New York Times. November 29, 1995. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ a b "Filling Mel's Shoes". Time. Time Inc. November 28, 1995. Archived from the original on October 8, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f Bryant, Rick (November 30, 1995). "JESSE JR. COMES UP ACES: Campaign Plan Works For Jackson". Daily Southtown. cited at "Jesse Jackson, Jr". Jesse Jackson, Jr. for Congress. Retrieved April 22, 2008.
- ^ Jackson and Watkins, p. 39.
- ^ "Riding the Airwaves to Prominence: Rhetorical Warriors". CQ Fifty. Congressional Quarterly. October 30, 1999. pp. 115โ117.
- ^ Jackson and Watkins, p. 25.
- ^ Jackson and Watkins, p. 40.
- ^ Wise, Mike (June 25, 1995). "Pro Basketball; Anthony Is No. 2 Of the Secaucus 27". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2009.
- ^ a b Johnson, Dirk (December 14, 1995). "Victory His, Jesse Jackson Jr. Heads to Congress". The New York Times. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ August, Melissa; Lina Lofaro; Alice Park; Jeffrey C. Rubin; Alain L. Sanders; Sidney Urquhart (December 11, 1995). "This Week". Time. Time Inc. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ a b "Junior Wins". Time. Time Inc. December 13, 1995. Archived from the original on October 8, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ "Whitewater: Smoking Gun or Squirt Gun?; A Long Way from His Shoeshine Stand". U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News & World Report, L.P. December 17, 1995. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ Horowitz, Janice M.; Lina Lofaro; Michael Quinn; Jeffrey C. Rubin; Alain L. Sanders; Sidney Urquhart (December 25, 1995). "This Week". Time. Time Inc. Archived from the original on March 7, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ "Jesse Jackson Jr. Sworn In as House Member". The New York Times. December 15, 1995. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ "Results of Contests For the U.S. House, District by District". The New York Times. November 7, 1996. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ Wayne, Leslie (March 2, 1997). "Fund-Raiser Helped Members of Congress". The New York Times. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
- ^ Lewis, Neil A. (November 1, 1999). "House Panel Says It Will Release F.B.I. Notes in Fund-Raising Case". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2008.
- ^ "Jackson On John Huang Contribution". JesseJackson.org (Press release). Jesse Jackson, Jr. for Congress. March 3, 1997. Archived from the original on September 12, 2008. Retrieved September 17, 2008.