Jesse Jr.'s wife running for alderman

'Change is in the air' says 7th Ward hopeful

Surrounded by her congressman husband, her two young children and a throng of sign-waving supporters, Sandi Jackson filed nominating petitions Monday in the race for alderman of the South Side's 7th Ward.

The campaign turned in close to 5,000 voter signatures, she said, adding that she felt "compelled" to run after watching the recent political maneuvering by new Cook County Board President Todd Stroger and Stroger's mentor, former Ald. William Beavers -- whose daughter, Darcel A. Beavers, was recently appointed to the aldermanic seat Jackson hopes to win.

"For me, that was the last straw," Jackson said Monday, of the Stroger affair. "Our [African-American] ancestors fought long and hard to get the right to vote ... and to have people selected for you time and time again is discouraging.

"I think now is the time. Change is in the air."

The Jackson-Beavers matchup is expected to be one of the most-watched races in the city, especially among those who had hoped to see Jackson's husband, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., run against Mayor Daley. Jackson removed his name from the mayoral hat after the Democrats won back control of Congress in November.

Sandi Jackson will have considerable Democratic contacts to draw upon. A U. of I.-educated lawyer, she is the deputy political director of training for the Democratic National Committee. She also has worked for her father-in-law, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., was a Clinton administration appointee and strategized for candidates in several tight state races.

On Monday, her husband wouldn't say whom he planned to endorse for mayor -- and said he would not even rule out endorsing Daley. As for Sandi Jackson, she said she has a close relationship with the Daleys, in particular Bill Daley.

"There is no feud between the Jacksons and the Daleys. I think that's largely a media creation," she said. "I think he [Mayor Daley] has done a great job. I'd just like to see what he's doing downtown moved farther south."

Jackson also got a taste of the tough campaign ahead, when a television reporter asked her about allegations that her campaign gave away free turkeys as they gathered signatures. Chicago Elections Board spokesman Tom Leach says nothing in the law prohibits such activity, and Jackson said she wasn't interested in getting "mired in mudslinging."

She argued that her marital ties would only benefit 7th Ward residents, who need jobs, better schools, less crime and more services, including help from the federal level. "I think I'm uniquely positioned to advocate for them in that way," she said.

She said the family has not decided whether they would move their eldest daughter, Jessica, 6, out of her Washington, D.C., school and return the family base to Chicago, saying only: "I am going to be a full-time alderman, no matter what."

Her husband cast the campaign as an alternative to the consolidation of the black machine headed by William Beavers and Stroger.

"This is about democracy in Chicago. If we can fight for it in Afghanistan, if we can fight for it in Iraq, we ought to be able to fight for it right here in Chicago."

"We're giving them the opportunity to make a choice," Sandi Jackson added. "That's a choice they would not have had otherwise."

szimmermann@suntimes.com