Opponent calls on Jackson Jr. to 'come out of hiding'

A candidate challenging Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) for his seat in the House of Representatives is calling on Jackson to show up and campaign for his seat, despite reports that Jackson is still undergoing treatment for bipolar disorder and has not yet been cleared by his doctors to campaign.

"I'm putting out a demand that Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. needs to come out of his house, come out of hiding," Marcus Lewis said, according to NBC News in Chicago. Lewis is an Independent candidate.

"We gave him 113 days, even prayed for him," Lewis said. "You don't wish bad on nobody, but we have an election."

Jackson has been absent from both Congress and his campaign since June, a period of nearly four months during which information about his bipolar disorder was slowly revealed. He recently put his Washington, D.C., townhouse up for sale, but has otherwise been far removed from the media during this time.

The Morris Daily Herald reported on Tuesday that Jackson is occasionally meeting with his staff, but that his reelection campaign is being run by Jackson's wife, Sandi.

The Herald also reported that while Jackson has been missing from this unusual campaign, Jackson is likely to win his seat again. It noted that Jackson's newly redrawn Second Congressional District is "deep blue," and that more than 80 percent of its voters supported President Obama in 2008.

That paper also said Republican candidate Brian Woodworth is getting "no financial help from the national GOP."

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