Nov 21, 2012

(Reuters) - Illinois Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., who has been absent from the Congress for several months and under treatment for bipolar disorder, will resign his seat, the Chicago Tribune reported on Wednesday, citing Jackson's brother.

The Tribune said it spoke by phone with Jonathan Jackson, who relayed his brother's plans to send his resignation by letter to House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner.

Spokespersons for Jackson, a Democrat, and for Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, could not immediately be reached for comment. A call to Jackson's father, Reverend Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader and former presidential candidate, was not immediately returned.

Jackson, 47, disappeared from public view in June and was treated for at least eight weeks at the renowned Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for bipolar disorder, a psychological condition marked by extreme mood swings.

Despite being absent from his congressional duties for at least six months, Jackson was easily elected on November 6 to a 10th term in Congress from a heavily Democratic district in Chicago.

Immediately after the election, several media reports circulated that Jackson had hired a high profile Chicago lawyer to negotiate a plea deal with federal authorities to settle allegations of misusing campaign funds for personal expenses.

Mayo Clinic confirmed on November 13 that Jackson had been released from the hospital but his whereabouts were unknown.