Jesse Jackson, Jr. grappling with more serious ailments; Twitter calls 'Lohan alert'

Brett T. | 9:36 PM on July 05, 2012

The office of embattled Illinois Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. today released a statement that the medical condition keeping Jackson from office “is more serious than we thought and initially believed.”

Jackson, citing exhaustion, has been on a leave of absence since June 10. He is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee in connection with the alleged sale of President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat by former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Thanks to the unspecific and somewhat secretive nature of the statement, it didn’t take long for the Twitterverse to wonder if Jackson’s “exhaustion” was of the kind most often associated with Hollywood celebrities.

https://twitter.com/CuffyMeh/status/220947202783195137

https://twitter.com/PatDollard/status/221039187376357376

https://twitter.com/NicTheEditor/status/221030579007795200

Any post that begins with “word on the street” should be taken with a very large grain of salt. “Mystery” is more like it, but who needs more mystery in politics, especially when an ongoing investigation is involved? Less mystery, please.

Word on the streets in Chicago is @RepJJJr (Jesse Jackson Jr.) can't take the heat, tried to swallow a bottle of pills and check out. #loser

— RebelPundit™ (@RebelPundit) July 5, 2012

Rep. Jackson treated for 'more serious' ailments: The mystery surrounding U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s leave of… http://t.co/xtd4b6iN

— FOX 2 Detroit (@FOX2News) July 6, 2012