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He Could Have Had It All - As the namesake of a civil rights leader, Jesse Jackson Jr.'s future was nothing but bright. But as fate would have it, greed got in the way and Jackson was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for misuse of about $750,000 in campaign funds. Here's a top-to-bottom view of the future inmate's fall from grace. – Joyce Jones (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) 

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A Star Is Born - Jackson was born the same year that President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965. He reportedly delivered his first political speech at the tender age of five.(Photo: Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)

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In Hindsight - Jackson was sent to LeMans Military Academy to get a handle on hyperactivity. It was a tough transition and he earned "numerous demerits" and visits to the principal’s office. Jackson later transferred to Washington's prestigious St. Albans School while his father ran for president. Photo: Charles Dharapak/AP Photo, File)

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Finding His Way - As a student at North Carolina A&T, Jackson found his footing. He was a quarterback on the football team and elected student body president. He also started a student group to protest apartheid. Jackson was arrested protesting apartheid for a second time in 1985 while demonstrating with his father and brother Jonathan outside of South Africa's Washington embassy and spent his 21st birthday in jail. (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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A Witness to History - According to his biography, Jackson had an on-stage seat when Nelson Mandela delivered a historic speech in 1990 following 27 years in prison. (Photo: STR New/Reuters)

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Center Stage - During the 1988 Democratic National Convention, Jackson introduced his father, Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., as "a man who fights against the odds, who lives against the odds.”(Photo: Gary Hershorn / Reuters) 

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A Higher Calling - After earning his undergraduate degree in business management (1987), Jackson earned a master's in theology from Chicago Theological Seminary (1990) and a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law (1993). (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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Power Couple - Jackson and future wife Sandi fell in love while in graduate school. The Ohio native even transferred from the more prestigious Georgetown University Law Center to join Jackson at the University of Illinois. They married in 1991 and have two children, Jessica, 13 and Jesse III, 9. Sandi was a Chicago alderman from 2007 until her resignation in 2012. (Photo: Brian Kersey /LANDOV/UPI)

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A Familiar Path - In Chicago, the path to political fortune is often paved with community organizing. As a national field director for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition created by his father, Jackson focused on voter registration and education. (Photo: Mannie Garcia /Landov/Reuters)

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Century Club - In 1997, Newsweek included Jackson in its list of 100 people to watch in the new century and even speculated whether he might become the nation's first African-American president. (Photo: Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images)

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First Time's the Charm - Jackson won his first Democratic primary with 48 percent of the vote and the special general election with 76 percent. He took office on Dec. 15, 1995. (Photo: Scott Olson/Reuters)

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Early Brush With Controversy - During his first bid to replace disgraced congressman Mel Reynolds, it was disclosed that Jackson's salary at the Rainbow Coalition had been subsidized by the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union. A Senate committee was investigating the organization for alleged ties to organized crime, which Jackson said he was unaware of. (Photo: Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images)

Photo By Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images

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That Wasn't All - Jackson also received a $1,000 campaign contribution from Democratic fundraiser John Huang, who was later convicted of conspiracy to commit campaign fraud. Unlike other recipients, Jackson kept the donation, saying it was within legal limits. (Photo: Yuri Gripas/Getty Images) 

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A Capitol Mark - Jackson sponsored legislation for a statue of Rosa Parks to be placed in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. He also co-sponsored legislation changing the name of the Capitol Visitor Center's Great Hall to Emancipation Hall, to honor the slaves who helped build the Capitol. (Photo: Harry Hamburg/AP Photo, File)

Photo By Harry Hamburg/AP Photo

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A Bit on the Side - It was revealed in September 2010 that Jackson was having an affair with a Washington restaurant hostess and that his friend and fundraiser Raghuveer Nayak had picked up the tab to fly her from Washington to Chicago. Nayak also was named in the Senate seat scandal. (Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo, File)

Photo By Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo/ Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo

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Downhill - In 2009, the ethics watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Jackson one of the 15 most corrupt members of Congress. (Photo: Mitch Dumke/Reuters)

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Pay to Play? - In 2009, Jackson's desire to fill the seat vacated by president-elect Barack Obama was no secret. It became an impossible dream, however, after he became the subject of a federal and House Ethics Committee investigation into whether he offered then-governor Rod Blagojevich a bribe to appoint him to the Senate seat. Jackson denied any involvement. 

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Disappearing Act - After weeks during which few if any noticed his absence, Jackson announced plans to take an indefinite leave to seek medical treatment. It was later disclosed that he'd been diagnosed with bipolar II disorder. (Photo: M. Spencer Green/AP Photo, File)

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Under Investigation - In October 2012, news broke that federal officials had launched an investigation into whether Jackson had stolen $750,000 from his campaign for personal use. Weeks later, he handily won re-election to his congressional seat, despite having not yet returned to public life. (Photo: Yuri Gripas/Landov)

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Resignation - On Nov. 21, Jackson resigned from Congress. It was reportedly part of a plea deal he'd reached with federal authorities. Sandi Jackson, who pleaded guilty to tax evasion, later resigned from her alderman's seat. (Photo: Cliff Owen/AP Photo, File)

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Jailhouse Blues - Jackson Jr. was sentenced to 30 months in prison for misuse of about $750,000 in campaign funds. His wife, Sandi, was sentenced to one year in prison for filing false tax returns. In addition, they will have to repay the $750,000 in stolen campaign funds as well as substantial fines.(Photo: Evan Vucci/AP Photo, File)