Jesse Jackson Jr., who just won reelection to his congressional seat, keeps insisting he hasn’t decided whether he’ll run for mayor in February. But when he talks about the new political army he’s organizing he sounds like he’s been running for quite a while.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Jackson, who set up the Jackson Exploratory and Listening Committee to look into a mayoral bid, says that even if he isn’t a candidate this time around, his new political army will provide a base for a campaign in four or eight years. “It will never go away,” he says. “For the first time in Chicago history there will be a strictly volunteer political organization.” Of course it won’t have jobs to hand out, but then the patronage-hiring scandals mean Daley shouldn’t either. Jackson says people don’t need that kind of incentive anymore–they’ll join because they want better representatives in City Hall.
On October 28 Sandi Jackson was holding an open house for supporters and potential volunteers in the storefront next door. Across the street stood about a dozen demonstrators, most holding hand-printed signs. trick or treat: sandi jackson running for alderman–trick! said one. A man with a megaphone paced back and forth. “Sandi? Who is Sandi?” he shouted. “Where’s she live? With that guy Jesse Jackson Jr.? Is he a congressman?”
Fry said every voter who showed interest in Jackson or his allies would be contacted for help a half-dozen to a dozen times, and all of their responses would be recorded. “No matter what happens in this mayoral race,” he said, “when people want help they should be able to come down here for it.”
