Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. resigns from Congress after months of medical leave

CHICAGO — Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., a once rising political star who has been on a mysterious medical leave for months for treatment of bipolar disorder, has resigned from Congress, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday. Jackson's resignation and hushed absence from politics comes amid a continuing House Ethics Committee investigation into his dealings with imprisoned ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, along with reports of a new federal probe into possible misuse of campaign money. Boehner's spokesman Michael Steele said his office received a resignation letter from Jackson but did not...