Run Jesse Jr. run! Jackson hit by ethics probe

Well I never felt more like runnin' away
But I couldn't go, 'cause I couldn't stay without you
You've got me singin' the blues
"Singin' the Blues," Marty Robbins, 1955.

It was a good day for Chicago Democrats on the North Side--Mike Quigley easily triumphed in the Illinois 5th Congressional District special election.

But on the South Side, Jesse Jackson Jr. is singing the blues:

A congressional ethics board has launched a preliminary inquiry into U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL), related to President Obama's vacant Senate seat and the corruption investigation of ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

The Office of Congressional Ethics, formed just last year, voted in late March to conduct a "preliminary review," of actions surrounding Jackson's bid to be appointed to the Senate seat, according to documents released to parties involved in the probe. The committee launched the action Thursday — the same day Blagojevich was indicted on corruption charges.

The panel has asked parties in the Blagojevich case — including his former gubernatorial staff and campaign staff — to turn over any documents, emails, or other correspondence involving Jackson Jr. and his campaign staff, Jackson's brother, Jonathan, and political fund-raisers Raghuveer Nayak and Rajinder Bedi, lawyers close to the probe told the Sun-Times. The request for information is from June of last year through Dec. 31, 2008.

Nayak, Bedi and Jonathan Jackson attended a Dec. 6 fund-raiser hosted by the Indian community for Friends of Blagojevich. People attending the event have told the Sun-Times that discussions about future fund-raising for congressman Jackson's Senate candidacy took place at the function.

That ought to shrink Junior's massive ego. The day before that fundraiser, Jackson launched this gem while meeting with the Daily Herald's editorial board:

So the bottom line is I believe I'm the best, ideal and most qualified candidate.

In light of the Blago fiasco, Junior's claim "Illinois is America" sounds pretty ridiculous.

As it should. Illinois is not America.

Thank God for that.

Related post:

Blago and bro, four others indicted