Rev. Jesse Jackson is happy his son is back with family

Rev. Jesse Jackson was in Chicago presiding at the annual convention of the Rainbow PUSH coalition, so he could not be in Washington D.C. to greet his son on his departure from a halfway house.

But in a news conference at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, Jackson switched gears and briefly fielded questions about Jesse Jackson Jr., the former congressman who hours earlier had arrived back at his D.C. townhome.

Could a return to politics be in his son’s future?

“No comment,” said Jackson.

His wife, Jacqueline Jackson, was more candid.

“I hope so,” she said while addressing reporters alongside her husband during a break in the action at the convention of the group the elder Jackson helped found.

“I’m sure if he’s looking (for a job) he’ll get one,” Rev. Jackson said, noting it was tough not being with his son on the day of his release. “He’s back with his family and that’s good news.”

The former congressman and his wife, former Chicago Ald. Sandi Jackson (7th), pleaded guilty in 2013 to looting campaign funds of $750,000 and spending much of it on personal items, including a Rolex and furs but also on toilet paper from Costco. There also were two mounted elk heads for his Capitol Hill House office.

Jackson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit false statements and mail and wire fraud. Sandi Jackson pleaded guilty to filing a false federal income tax return. She is headed to a federal prison in October, her husband said Monday. She will serve a 12-month sentence.

Contributing: Lynn Sweet