Rev. Jackson updates: Chicago says final goodbye to civil rights icon at Rainbow PUSH HQ

The public visitation for Reverend Jesse Jackson began Thursday morning at Rainbow PUSH Headquarters.

Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson Jr. spoke briefly before the start of the visitation.

"I have known Reverend Jackson since I was 12 years old," rev. Sharpton said. We spent a lifetime together. I have seen him stand up against adversity. I have seen him break history. There would not have been a Democratic Party the way it is today had it not been for him changing the rules that opened the door to Barack Obama and Bill Clinton...he raised a generation of us to deal with activism and he never gave up."

Jesse Jackson Jr. said his family has been overwhelmed by the support they have received.

"We see this as an unique opportunity to lay down some of the political rhetoric and to lay down some of the division that deeply divides our country and to reflect upon a man who brought people together," Jackson Jr. said.

Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson Jr. speak ahead of the rev. Jackson's visitation at Rainbow PUSH.

The casket of Rev. Jesse Jackson arrived at Rainbow PUSH Headquarters Thursday morning.

The civil rights leader will then lie in repose for a public visitation on Thursday and Friday.

A procession is carrying the body of Rev. Jesse Jackson from the Leak & Sons Funeral Home in the Chatham neighborhood to Rainbow PUSH in the Kenwood neighborhood.

Rev. Jackson will then lie in repose at Rainbow PUSH, starting at 10 a.m.

The casket of rev. Jesse Jackson was carried to a hearse ahead of a procession to Rainbow PUSH.

Mourners to begin paying respect to Rev. Jackson at Rainbow PUSH.

Those wishing to honor the Reverend Jesse Jackson are expected to line up outside the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, where the iconic civil rights leader will lie in repose for the next two days.

The two-time presidential candidate and protege of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. died last week at the age of 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and his speech.

Although tributes honoring his legacy continue to pour in from around the world, his death has been felt most strongly here in Chicago, the city he called home.

Jackson's advocacy was boundless. Whether it be civil and voting rights for people of color, economic and social justice for the marginalized, or diplomacy around the world, Jesse Jackson worked to make America and the global society a more equitable place.

He was an international negotiator, traveler, changemaker, peacemaker and he went everywhere and was known everywhere and he is still known, his name is still known far beyond the borders in this country," ABC7 Political Analyst Laura Washington said.

After lying in repose in Chicago, the late reverend will head to both Washington D.C. and South Carolina, where he spent his childhood.

Honors and tributes will wrap up with a large celebration of life gathering at the House of Hope and homegoing services at PUSH.