Story highlights Former congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. sentenced to 30 months in prison

Jackson and his wife misspent about $750,000 in campaign funds to finance lavish living

Jackson Jr. pleaded guilty to several charges; says be believes in "power of redemption"

His wife pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns; She gets a year in jail; weeps at sentencing

Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. , once a rising Democratic star whose political fortunes imploded over the use of campaign finances to support lavish personal spending, was sentenced to 30 months in prison on Wednesday.

"I misled the American people," Jackson, 48, said before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson imposed the term, which also included an order for restitution and community service.

The ex-Illinois lawmaker's wife, Sandi, received a 12-month sentence for her role in her husband's misuse of roughly $750,000 in campaign funds over several years.

"I don't have to tell you this is a very sad day and a very difficult case," Judge Jackson said, calling it an example of organized and joint misconduct and a violation of the public trust.

"You knew better," she said.

As the judge read her sentence, Sandi Jackson wept. Her husband smiled slightly when he received his punishment, which was less than what the government sought.

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Photos: Photos: Jesse Jackson Jr. Photos: Photos: Jesse Jackson Jr. Jesse Jackson Jr. – Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois arrives at federal court in Washington on Wednesday, August 14, 2013, with his wife, Sandi. Jackson was sentenced to 30 months in prison for misusing about $750,000 in campaign funds. Sandi Jackson received a 12-month sentence for filing false tax returns. Hide Caption 1 of 9 Photos: Photos: Jesse Jackson Jr. Jesse Jackson Jr. – Jesse Jackson Jr. enters U.S. District Court in Washington on February 20, where he pleaded guilty Hide Caption 2 of 9 Photos: Photos: Jesse Jackson Jr. Jesse Jackson Jr. – Jackson and his wife, Sandi, leave U.S. District Court in Washington on February 20 after entering guilty pleas.

Hide Caption 3 of 9 Photos: Photos: Jesse Jackson Jr. Jesse Jackson Jr. –

Jackson, here on the U.S. Capitol steps in December 2011, represented Illinois' 2nd Congressional District from 1995 to 2012. He resigned from Congress in November 2012, citing the need to spend time "restoring my health." Hide Caption 4 of 9 Photos: Photos: Jesse Jackson Jr. Jesse Jackson Jr. – Jackson addresses the health care overhaul at an August 2009 town hall meeting at a Chicago church. Hide Caption 5 of 9 Photos: Photos: Jesse Jackson Jr. Jesse Jackson Jr. – From left, Jackson, John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi and President Barack Obama stand for the national anthem at the U.S. Capitol in February 2009 during the bicentennial celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Hide Caption 6 of 9 Photos: Photos: Jesse Jackson Jr. Jesse Jackson Jr. – Jackson responds in December 2008 to allegations in a bribery scandal involving then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Blagojevich was accused of trying to profit as he considered whom to appoint to take Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat. Blagojevich began serving a 14-year sentence on a corruption conviction in March 2012. No charges were filed against Jackson. Hide Caption 7 of 9 Photos: Photos: Jesse Jackson Jr. Jesse Jackson Jr. – Leaving a White House ceremony in December 2005 are Jesse Jackson Jr., right, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., who's holding his grandson, Jesse Jackson III. Hide Caption 8 of 9 Photos: Photos: Jesse Jackson Jr. Jesse Jackson Jr. – Jackson addresses the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston in July 2004. The son of the civil rights leader was once viewed as a rising political star. Hide Caption 9 of 9

Photos: Politicians in hot water Photos: Politicians in hot water U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah was convicted on federal corruption charges on Tuesday, June 21. The Philadelphia Democrat was tied to a host of campaign finance schemes, according to the Department of Justice. Hide Caption 1 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $250,000 to a victims' fund in April after a hush-money case revealed he was being accused of sexually abusing young boys as a teacher in Illinois. Hide Caption 2 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell arrives at his corruption trial in Richmond, Virginia, in September 2015. A jury convicted McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, derailing the political ambitions of the one-time rising star in the Republican Party. McDonnell, who was sentenced to two years in prison, has asked the Supreme Court to reverse his conviction. The high court heard his challenge in April. Hide Caption 3 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, was indicted on corruption charges in April 2015. Federal prosecutors have accused Menendez of using his Senate office to push the business interests of a friend and donor in exchange for gifts. The senator has pleaded not guilty to the charges and vehemently asserts his innocence. Hide Caption 4 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water U.S. Rep. Vance McAllister asked for forgiveness from God, his family and his constituents after a newspaper published what it said was surveillance video showing the married Louisiana Republican making out with a female staffer. His term ended in 2015. Hide Caption 5 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, Sandra, arrive at federal court in Washington for sentencing in August 2013. Jackson, a Democrat from Illinois, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for improper use of campaign funds, while his wife got 12 months for filing false tax returns. Hide Caption 6 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water In 2012, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being convicted of 18 criminal counts, including trying to sell the appointment to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. Hide Caption 7 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted in 2007 of obstructing a federal investigation into who revealed the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $250,000, but former President George W. Bush commuted his sentence. Hide Caption 8 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water Former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2009 after being convicted of 11 counts of corruption related to using his office to solicit bribes. The Louisiana Democrat was also ordered to forfeit $470,000. Hide Caption 9 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water Former U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, a Republican from Ohio, was sentenced to 30 months in prison in 2007 after being convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud and making false statements to investigators. Hide Caption 10 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water U.S. Rep. James Traficant Jr., D-Ohio, spent seven years in prison after being convicted of bribery and corruption and tax evasion charges in 2002. Hide Caption 11 of 12 Photos: Politicians in hot water Former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-California, was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2006 after he was convicted of collecting $2.4 million in homes, yachts, antique furnishings and other bribes on a scale unparalleled in the history of Congress. Hide Caption 12 of 12

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His brother Carl Levin was the state's senior senator until his retirement in January 2015. And his uncle, Theodore Levin, was a federal judge. Hide Caption 7 of 30 Photos: A look at political families Photos: Political families – The night after John F. Kennedy won the 1960 presidential election this family portrait was made in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Sitting, from left, Eunice Shriver (on chair arm), Rose Kennedy, Joseph Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, head turned away from camera, and Ted Kennedy. Back row, from left, Ethel Kennedy, Stephen Smith, Jean Smith, President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Pat Lawford, Sargent Shriver, Joan Kennedy, and Peter Lawford. Hide Caption 8 of 30 Photos: A look at political families Photos: Political families – The late U.S. Sen. Prescott Bush, R-Connecticut, center, was the father of former President George H.W. Bush, left, and grandfather of former President George W. Bush, far left. 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The pair pleaded guilty in February to various charges -- Jackson to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and false statements; and his wife to filing false tax returns.

After the hearing, Jackson acknowledged his failings and hoped for a renewal.

"I still, believe in the power of forgiveness. I believe in the power of redemption. Today I manned up and tried to accept responsibility for the error of my ways," he said before climbing into a waiting vehicle.

Vacations, furs and memorabilia

A smooth politician and the son of a civil rights leader and one-time political heavyweight, the younger Jackson admitted to using campaign money to pay for things such as vacations, furs and Michael Jackson memorabilia.

In a statement read in court, Jackson said he wanted to be held accountable for his actions and he knew what he did was wrong.

He also asked the judge to not punish his wife for what he said "was a subset of what I did."

"I ask that my kids not suffer from my actions," Jackson said of his two children, 9 and 13. "If probation is not available to my wife, give me her time."

Jackson's lawyers reiterated that sentiment and asked the court for an 18-month sentence for Jackson and probation for his wife.

"This is not Madoff," Reid Weingarten, Jackson's lawyer, said in court, referring to notorious Wall Street swindler Bernie Madoff. "There was no Ponzi scheme."

Sandi Jackson sobbed through part of her courtroom statement and said she "put her family unit in peril" for filing false tax returns.

"I stand before you today asking for mercy," she said. "My heart breaks every day with the pain it's caused my babies. I ask the court for mercy."

Prosecutors had sought a four-year sentence for Jackson and 18 months in jail and restitution of $168,550 for his wife.

"This is a sad day that involves a waste of talent," prosecutor Matthew Graves said. "They were in the top 10 percent of household earnings in the United States. There's just no need for this kind of conduct."

Graves said that Jackson did not "deserve credit" for his job as a congressman.

"That's what he was paid to do," he said.

Jackson's lawyers pointed to his record in Washington -- one they said was good -- in arguing for a lighter sentence.

The judge said the sentencing guidelines were excessive and that apologies expressed appeared genuine. She also cited helpful cooperation.

"The real remorse you've shown is palpable in this courtroom," she said. "There's no question you've suffered. Your remorse is real."

After sentencing, the judge gave the couple a few minutes to discuss who wanted to serve their sentence first.

Jackson will begin his sentence around November 1 at a prison camp in Montgomery, Alabama, the judge said.

Jackson requested the location.

"I ask for Alabama so I can be as far away from everybody for a while as I can be," he said. "I want to make it a little inconvenient for everybody to get to me."

In addition to jail time, Jackson must repay in full the money he misused, while his wife was ordered to make restitution of $22,000.

Jackson and his wife also were ordered to perform community service.

Jackson in Congress until 2012

According to court records, Jackson misused about $750,000 in campaign funds from August 2005 through July 2012. Some of the eye-popping spending included $60,000 at Antiques of Nevada, where Jackson bought two hats belonging to the late singer Michael Jackson costing more than $8,000; a $5,000 football signed by U.S. presidents; and memorabilia involving the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and martial artist Bruce Lee.

The Jackson's also use campaign funds to purchase Blu-Ray DVD players from Best Buy, dresses and jewelry from a small boutique and fur capes and parkas from a Beverly Hills, California, furrier.

In total, prosecutors said Jackson made more than 3,000 purchases.

He was succeeded by Democratic Rep. Robin L. Kelly, who won a special election this year to fill the vacancy in the Illinois 2nd Congressional District.

Jackson's lawyers later stated he suffers from bipolar disorder.

A rising star, knows Obama

Early in his political career, Jackson was considered a politician on the rise.

In 1997, Newsweek named him one of the 100 people to watch in the next century.

"He's a hit in Congress," read the Newsweek article. "Will he be the first black president?"

Although Jackson never lived up to that hype, he was an extremely vocal supporter of then-candidate Barack Obama.

"I'm sure that Dr. King is looking down on us here in Denver noting this is the first political convention in history to take place within sight of a mountaintop," Jackson said in 2008, referencing the Rev. Martin Luther King's famous speech, "I've Been to the Mountaintop."

"I know Barack Obama," Jackson said. "I've seen his leadership at work. I've seen the difference he has made in the lives of people across Illinois."

Outside the courtroom, Jackson Sr. told reporters that his son was "unbelievably sick" a year ago, but is now doing better.

"I don't know how I missed so many signs," the elder Jackson said.