Illinois Rep. Jackson resigns from Congress Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned Wednesday from Congress amid a cloud of health and legal problems that have intensified in recent months. The nine-term congressman left Washington unexpectedly this summer, leaving fellow Capitol Hill lawmakers, his staff and voters to learn several weeks later that he was being treated for a bipolar disorder. A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner confirmed this afternoon that Jackson's letter of resignation has been received. Jackson, the son of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, was easily re-elected earlier this month despite not having appeared in public since June. The House Ethics Committee has been looking into whether Jackson was involved in discussions about raising money for imprisoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's campaign in exchange for an appointment to President Obama's vacated Senate seat. There also have been reports of a federal investigation into possible misuse of campaign money.