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Last fall Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. announced that he was creating a political organization to back a slate of candidates in the February 27 municipal elections and beyond. Jackson said at the time that his goal was to develop an independent operation to counter the many ward and citywide political organizations (think HDO) aligned with Mayor Daley and other regular Democrats. Specifically, Jackson said, he wanted to help elect at least 15 aldermanic candidates to form a major independent bloc in the City Council.
Denise Dixon, a Jackson-endorsed candidate in the 15th Ward, says that though the congressman hasn’t sent her any money or foot soldiers, he has provided her with invaluable support and advice. “I can go to him and say, ‘Can I do this, that, or the other?’ and he will say, ‘You should do this.’ And I can use his likeness, his name, and voter registration lists,” Dixon says. “He’s a genius with this stuff.”
