Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the Rev. Jesse Jackson at a downtown Chicago hospital Friday, days after he was moved out of the intensive care unit.
The longtime civil rights activist and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition is being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for the neurological disorder supranuclear palsy. The 84-year-old was moved from the intensive care unit Monday after being admitted last week.
“During their time together, the Clintons expressed their support for Rainbow PUSH’s ongoing work and mission, and for Reverend Jackson’s leadership and commitment to protecting and defending civil rights, promoting peace and justice around the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement.
Jackson’s condition remains stabilized, and he is “under good care,” the statement added.
In 2013, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; earlier this year, his diagnoses changed to progressive supranuclear palsy, according to Jackson’s family.
The relationship between Jackson and the Clintons dates back decades.
Rev. Jesse Jackson and former President Bill Clinton confer at the PUSH annual convention on Aug. 8, 2001, in Chicago. Critics have said that Jackson’s biggest moments on the public stage were in the past. After a scandal last winter, Jackson has rebounded and in the past week, he has shown he can still grab headlines, attract leaders of industry and politics and broker huge financial deals. His continued clout was evidenced by his ability to draw Clinton to the convention . (AP Photo/Chicago Sun-Times, Tom Cruze) ORG XMIT: ILCHS501
Associated Press
In 2000, Bill Clinton awarded Jackson with the distinguished Presidential Medal of Freedom. A few years earlier, Jackson was appointed by then-President Clinton as the Special Envoy of the President and Secretary of State for the Promotion of Democracy in Africa.
The former president also attended Jackson’s mother’s funeral service in 2015 in Jackson’s hometown of Greenville, North Carolina.