Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who has received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and has been under federal investigation, has resigned from Congress.
Aides to House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday that Jackson sent his office a letter with his intent to resign.
In his hometown, Chicago, and in Washington, the decision put an end to five months of speculation over the political future of Jackson, a Democrat, who had vanished from Congress and public view since June.
Still uncertain for Jackson is how a criminal investigation into his possible use of campaign funds on purchases for his home may turn out. Already, even before word of Jackson’s decision began spreading, political figures in Chicago were scrambling for the seat, which Jackson had occupied for nearly two decades and is now expected to be filled through a special election.
Only a few weeks ago on Election Day, he won 63 percent of the vote even as he remained, his representatives said, under treatment for bipolar disorder.
