Jonathan Jackson

Jonathan Jackson is the son of Jesse Jackson. Husband of Marilyn Jackson. He succeeded the retiring Bobby Rush in 2022.

Jackson, 56, is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University with a master's degree in business administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He has worked as a partner in a beer distribution business and as a business professor at Chicago State University, and he has a long history of activism with his father and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.

The godson of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is a national spokesman for Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Mr. Jackson is a professor of marketing in the College of Business at Chicago State University and is a partner in a Chicago-based Anheuser-Busch Cos. Distributorship, River North Sales and Service, LLC. His investment ventures range from wireless to real estate and distribution sectors and he is currently in the process of building a Cricket Wireless franchise operation. Mr. Jackson started his business career in 1988 at Drexel Burnham Lambert as an investment analyst. Jackson also worked as an analyst at Independence Bank, as a Shatkin Arbor runner at the Chicago Board of Trade, and developed real estate for East Lake Management in Chicago.

Mr. Jackson is a regular contributor to the Cliff Kelley radio show, WVON AM 1690. He graduated from North Carolina A&T University and the Kellogg Graduate School of Business at Northwestern University.^[1]

Rainbow PUSH Coalition

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition & Citizenship Education Fund held its 42nd Annual International Convention "A More Perfect Union: 150 Years Later Beyond Freedom – Reconstruction" July 6 - 10, 2013 Chicago Hilton & Towers. The Saturday morning Forum key issues we face today: access to health care, achieving high quality public education for all students, home and church foreclosures, urban violence, unemployment, economic recovery, and more, was moderated by Professor Charles Ogletree, Harvard University School of Law.

Panelists were: Rep. Marcia Fudge, Chair, Congressional Black Caucus, Michelle Alexander, Attorney and Author of “The New Jim Crow”, Barbara Arnwine, Attorney & Executive Director, Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights Under Law, David Slane, Attorney, Robert Borosage, Founder & President, Campaign for America's Future, Cliff Kelly, Talk Show Host, WVON Radio, Chicago, Willie Gary, Attorney, Jonathan Jackson, Rainbow PUSH Coalition National Spokesman, Fred Gray, Civil Rights Attorney, Danny Davis, Congressman, Bobby Rush, Congressman.^[2]

Center for Tax and Budget Accountability

In 2014 Jonathan Jackson served on the board of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability.^[3]

Ceasefire Now Resolution

From an article from The Intercept regarding the Hamas-empowering Ceasefire Now Resolution dated October 20, 2023 by Ryan Grim:^[4]

Washington, D.C. (October 16, 2023) — Today, Representatives Cori Bush (MO-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Andre Carson (IN-07), Summer Lee (PA-12), and Delia Ramirez (IL-03), alongside Representatives Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Chuy Garcia (IL-04), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Nydia Velazquez (NY-07) announced a resolution urging the Biden Administration to call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine, to send humanitarian aid and assistance to Gaza, and to save as many lives as possible.

Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Maxwell Frost, and Greg Casar joined a few days later.

No to China committee

Sixty-five Democrats in the House of Representatives voted on Tuesday January 10, 2022, against creating a committee to investigate China and find ways to counter the communist country’s growing international influence.

The House overwhelmingly voted to create the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party on a 365 to 65 margin, in one of the first votes since the Republicans took control of the chamber.

However, even though some members did not vote, all 65 lawmakers who voted against the committee’s creation were Democrats, including Jonathan Jackson.

2022 CPC new members

During an event at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C., Pramila Jayapal said that 15 of the 18 candidates the CPC's political arm had won their elections as of Sunday, with another win potentially on the way.

“There’s no question this will be the most progressive Democratic Caucus in decades,” Jayapal said, adding that they will have over 100 members in the 118th Congress compared to their current membership of 99.

By the numbers: Jayapal was joined at the press conference by nearly a dozen incoming members.

They were: Morgan McGarvey (Ky.), Summer Lee (Pa.), Robert Garcia (Calif.), Shri Thanedar (Mich.), Maxwell Frost (Fla.) Jasmine Crockett (Texas), Jill Tokuda (Hawaii), Delia Ramirez (Ill.), Greg Casar (Texas), Becca Balint (Vt.) and Jonathan Jackson (Ill.).^[5]

“Chicago for All of Us” rally

According to Erin Boyle, on Thursday, March 30 2023, Brandon Johnson and Bernie Sanders held a joint “Chicago for All of Us” rally at the Credit Union 1 Arena, drawing a crowd of more than 4000 supporters. The event comes after Sanders’ endorsement of Johnson for the April 4 mayoral runoff election. The event included speeches from Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa; Representatives Jonathan Jackson and Delia Ramirez; president of the American Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten; Martin Luther King III, and Senator Bernie Sanders.

The Johnson campaign is an example of the sort of rainbow coalition Chicago hasn’t seen since the Harold Washington campaign of the 1980s, and the crowd showed it. An integral part of the rainbow politics of the 1980s, Reverend Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist and leader of the Rainbow-PUSH coalition was also present.

Senator Sanders spoke on the connection between the movement and the Johnson campaign, stating, “He understands what you and I understand: that racism and bigotry are all about the ruling class trying to divide us and what we are about is bringing our people together to fight for a city, fight for a nation that works for all of us not just the few.”

Representative Ramirez praised the diverse nature of the crowd and its representative strength of the people’s movement in Chicago. She shared advice from her mother: “Dime con quien andas, y te dire quien ere” (“Tell me who you are with and I’ll tell you who you are”).

On the stage, students from the Little Village Lawndale Highschool Fightback Organization stood behind the speakers. Earlier that same day the students had led a walkout of hundreds of mostly Black and Latino students to denounce Paul Vallas and his attacks on public education while he was in office as the superintendent of Chicago Public schools.

Representative Jackson contrasted this shameful record with Johnson’s experience as a former public school teacher and member of the Chicago Teachers Union, saying Johnson is, “A man who starts his career going into a classroom on behalf of the children will no doubt end his career working for the elevation of every human life.”

Finally, Brandon Johnson took the stage to thunderous applause. He spoke against the reactionary attacks on his campaign by stating: “They have tried to make us feel bad because we believe in collective bargaining and unionism, let me make this clear: the last time I checked Chicago is a union town. And if you are an enemy of labor, you are an enemy of the people!”^[6]

Our Revolution endorsement 2022

Our Revolution endorsed Jonathan Jackson in 2022.

Progressive Democrats of America

Progressive Democrats of America 2024 House incumbent endorsements were Alma Adams, Becca Balint, Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, Greg Casar, Judy Chu, Debbie Dingell]], Lloyd Doggett, Maxwell Frost, Chuy Garcia, Raul Grijalva, Jonathan Jackson, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Jim McGovern, Summer Lee, Joe Neguse, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Mark Pocan, Ayanna Pressley, Delia Ramirez, Jamie Raskin, Jan Schakowsky, Rashida Tlaib.^[7]

Progressive Democrats of America 2022 House challenger endorsements were Becca Balint, Greg Casar, Angelica Duenas, Maxwell Frost, Jonathan Jackson, Gary Josephson, Summer Lee, Derek Marshall, Jamie McLeod-Skinner, Delia Ramirez, Michelle Vallejo.^[8]

Collective PAC

The Collective PAC endorsed Jonathan Jackson in 2022.

Medicare for All

Cheryl Webb November 30, 2022.

"We’re SO thrilled to congratulate and welcome these new members of Congress who won their elections earlier this month on a platform of supporting Medicare for All!

Greg Casar - TX-35, Summer Lee - PA-12, Valerie Foushee - NC-04, Shri Thanedar - MI-03, Delia Ramirez - IL-03, Maxwell Frost - FL-10, Sydney Kamlager - CA-37, Robert Garcia - CA-42, Becca Balint - VT-at large, Morgan McGarvey - KY-03, Glenn Ivey - MD-04, Kevin Mullin - CA-15, Jill Tokuda - HI-02, Jonathan Jackson - IL-01, John Fetterman - Senator-elect, Pennsylvania, Peter Welch - Senator-elect, Vermont .

Endorsement

References

[1] Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, Jonathan Jackson

[2] Rainbow PUSH Coalition & Citizenship Education Fund 42nd Annual International Convention

[3] Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, Board

[4] Reps. Jayapal, Frost, and Casar Join Call for Ceasefire in Gaza (accessed October 23, 2023)

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