Sandi Jackson released from federal prison camp

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Former Chicago Alderman Sandi Jackson was released from a federal prison camp in West Virginia to a halfway house, a Federal Bureau of Prisons official said.

Jackson was not expected to be released from the camp in Alderson, W.Va., until next month. But she became eligible for home detention on Sept. 13, when the official said she was transferred to a residential re-entry center, or halfway house.

ABC7 Eyewitness News learned she was expected to stay in a private residence in Washington, D.C. The official said she entered home confinement Thursday and is being monitored by the Baltimore Residential Reetry Management Office. Jackson's final release date is Oct. 18.

Three years ago, Sandi Jackson pleaded guilty to filing false income tax returns. She was sentenced to one year in federal prison, to be served after her husband, former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., served his sentence for spending campaign money for personal use.

This was done in consideration for the couple's two children. The ex-congressman completed his prison sentence last year.

Throughout both Jacksons' prison time, their children have remained in the family's Dupont Circle home in D.C.

Some share that the couple's political and social connections got them special treatment.

"She didn't serve the time. You did wrong, you didn't do right by the people you were supposed to serve and you should have had to serve the time," Delores Allen said.

"She's a political figure so the rules that apply to her are different and a lot of times, that's the way Chicago works and it's not fair," Latoya Prewitt said.

Sandi Jackson served Chicago's 7th Ward. She was elected in 2007, but resigned in 2013. She married into the Jackson family, led by its patriarch, the Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. He heads the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and has been a civil rights leader for decades.

The former alderman was released on her 53rd birthday.

Sandi Jackson's attorney has not returned ABC7's phone calls and the Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. had no comment on his daughter-in-law's release.

The well-known Chicago family has previously said they are focused on supporting the Jackson's children during these difficult transitions.