CHICAGO — Two Chicago-area congressmen came to Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s defense this week, comparing his mental health issues to Bulls star Derrick Rose's knee injury, the Chicago Tribune reported.
One day before Jackson returned to the Mayo Clinic to continue treatment for bipolar disorder, Rep. Bobby Rush and Rep. Danny Davis held a news conference at O'Hare International Airport, where they told reporters Jackson's continued absence did not hurt his district, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Rush likened Jackson's absence to that of Derrick Rose, who might be forced to sit out some of the 2012-13 Bulls season after suffering a knee injury, according to the Chicago Tribune.
"No one is clamoring for Derrick Rose to come back before he should," Rush said, according to the paper.
Jackson is currently being investigated by the Justice Department for alleged misuse of campaign funds.
He has also been the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation for alleged ties to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's attempt to sell President Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat. Davis said Jackson didn't go into detail about the investigations when they visited him, the Sun-Times reported.
Jackson has been on medical leave from Congress since June.
