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 him.
"He's still listed on the state and city Web sites for sex offenders," the Chicago Sun-Times pointed out today.
"Well, so what?" Reynolds shot back. "And what would you like me to do about that? That is a requirement of the law. What is that going to do to me? How does that affect my life?"
He insists he can do a better job than the incumbent.
"He's never struggled for anything," Reynolds said. "I've earned everything I had. He is completely out of touch with what is going on here."
Reynolds touts a poll showing only 40.3 percent of voters favoring Jackson, 32.3 percent supporting himself and the rest undecided.
And what of his criminal record? Ian Stirton, a spokesman for the Federal Election Commission, told the Sun-Times, "I don't think it would be particularly [something] you would want to emphasize in your campaign literature."
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