Former Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has stepped out of a federal prison in Alabama and now goes to a halfway house to complete a 2013 sentence for spending hundreds of thousands in campaign money on personal items.
WLS in Chicago reports: "The Jackson entourage, consisting of his father, Reverend Jesse Jackson; his wife, Sandi Jackson; and the former congressman's two children, arrived at Maxwell Air Force Base around 4:15 a.m. Thursday."
The 50-year-old Democrat, pleaded guilty in Nov. 2013 to using some $750,000 from his campaign on luxury items for personal use. Jackson's wife was sentenced to one-year in prison for filing false joint federal income tax returns.
The Associated Press quotes his father as saying Jackson Jr. is doing "very well" after his release from the minimum security facility at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala., and that the occasion was a "joyous reunion."
After 17 months behind bars, his family is driving him to halfway house in Washington, D.C., where he is expected to serve the remainder of his 30-month sentence. He must also complete another three years on supervised release over which time he's required to do 500 hours of community service, according to the AP.
WLS quotes Delmarie Cobb, Jackson's former campaign manager, as saying that although he is unlikely to serve again in public office, he might still be a voice on public policy.
"His time has been served and he's headed to a halfway house. I mean, it gives me hope that he's well on his way to starting a new chapter in his life," Cobb said, according to WLS.
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