CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge on Monday postponed the sentencing hearing for former Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, noting it was being done to “accommodate the court” and not at the request of the couple’s attorneys or the prosecution.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D.C., posted a brief note on the court’s docket saying Wednesday’s hearing for the Chicago Democrat and his wife would be held later. She didn’t set a new date.
Jackson, the son of civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., pleaded guilty this year to spending $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items, including a gold-plated Rolex and mounted elk heads, among other things.
He faces a maximum five-year prison term. Under his plea agreement, Jackson must pay back the $750,000 and he will be subject to a host of other financial penalties.
Jackson’s wife, Sandi Jackson, was to be sentenced at the same hearing on a related conviction.
Last week, prosecutors filed a forfeiture motion listing the Jackson’s two homes, which observers said could result in them losing one or both of them.
The Jacksons have two school-aged children, and the judge must decide whether to stagger their sentences so that they won’t both be in prison at the same time.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.