(Lynn Sweet video)
UPDATED
WASHINGTON–Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) confirmed through a spokesman on Wednesday that he is selling his home here–the reason– to help pay for his health care. The home, a row house in the DuPont Circle neighborhood, is listed for $2.5 million.
Kevin Lampe, a spokesman for Jackson’s political operation told me that Jackson is still a candidate for re-election this November.
Here is the Jackson statement: “Like millions of Americans, Cong. Jackson and Mrs. Jackson are grappling with soaring health care costs and are selling their residence to help defray costs of their obligations. The congressman would like to personally thank everyone who has offered prayers on behalf of his family.”
It’s not known if Jackson gets his health insurance through the congressional plan or through his wife, Sandi, the 7th Ward alderman in Chicago.
Most plans–even the best–do not have unlimited mental health coverage that would pay for months of hospitalization. Rep. Jackson was a patient at Mayo Clinic and another facility in Arizona from mid-June through the summer.
BELOW, EARLIER POST
WASHINGTON–The Washington D.C. home of Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) is for sale, according to several local real estate listings. The asking price for the red brick Victorian row house, just off DuPont Circle, is $2.5 million.
The sale comes as Jackson is recovering from bipolar depression–we’re told at this home–that has forced his absence from Congress since mid-June and treatment at the Mayo Clinic and a facility in Arizona.
While the official residence for the Jackson family is on Chicago’s South Side, their home here is a family base for their two children, who attend a private school here.
When Jackson will surface remains an open question. He remains on the November ballot and faces only nominal opposition in a heavily Democratic district.
I talked Tuesday to Jackson Washington spokesman Frank Watkins–to check out talk that Jackson may appear at upcoming Congressional Black Caucus annual conference events–and was told that was unlikely.
I dropped by the house on Sunday and had a very, very brief chat with the mother of Ald. Sandi Jackson (7th) who said neither the congressman or the alderman were home when I was there. There was an Impala with D.C. plates in the driveway and a car with Illinois plates–and a member of Congress tag–in the garage.
The home is on a gorgeous block. According to the listings, the home was built in 1921, has 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths, 2 half baths, is on 5 levels, two kitchens and a rooftop with jacuzzi and 2,936 square feet. The Zillow estimate is different from the asking price: $1,445,800.
Check out listings:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2034-O-St-NW-Washington-DC-20036/398183_zpid
http://hometryst.com/dc/2034-o-st-nw-washington-dc-20036-mls-dc7923211/
http://www.essentialpropertiesrealty.com/realestate/MRIS/675798/2034-O-ST-NW-WASHINGTON-DC-20036
The sale was reported first Wednesday morning by Lauren Vict