Defense attorney Sam Adam Jr. considering run for Jackson’s seat
By Natasha Korecki Political Reporter Twitter: @natashakorecki November 13, 2012 2:24PM
Attorney Sam Adams, Jr. talks with media after Andre Curry left Criminal Court at 26th & California following verdict, Thursday, November 8, 2012. I John H. White~Sun-Times
Updated: November 13, 2012 8:38PM
Sam Adam Jr., the boisterous onetime attorney to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and R&B singer R. Kelly, told the Chicago Sun-Times Tuesday he is considering a run for U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s seat.
“My wife and I are thinking about it,” Adam told the Sun-Times. “I am a fighter. They may have said I wasn’t qualified, but they can’t say I don’t fight.”
Adam said the 2nd District is in dire need of representation: “They need somebody not in Mayo Clinic, they need someone fighting for them,” Adam said.
Adam lives in U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush’s district but said he and his father – Sam Adam Sr. -- own property in the 2nd district. A candidate does not have to live in the district he or she is seeking to represent.
Adam said he was approached last week by “prominent persons” on the state and city level, who urged him to make a run for a special election should Jackson step down. “They said they were interested in backing me,” he said, but would not identify the people. Adam acknowledged that he must still see how Jackson’s situation plays out. For now, Jackson is still a congressman, having just been reelected on Nov. 6 with 63 percent of the vote.
The beleaguered Jackson is the target of a federal criminal probe into his campaign funds and the Sun-Times reported last week that his attorneys have engaged in plea negotiations with authorities.
Adam said he would have to give up his law practice. He recently set up a new firm with Victor Henderson. The two represent Cook County Commissioner William Beavers, who is to go to trial on Dec. 3. They also represented indicted – but reelected – state Rep. Derrick Smith, a West Side Democrat. Along with Ed Genson and Adam’s father, Adam represented Kelly in an underaged sex case. Kelly was acquitted. Adam gave openings and closings in the first trial against Blagojevich, which ended in a deadlocked jury on 23 of 24 counts.
