Jacksons spar over 'sweet home Chicago' in sour divorce case

Sandi Jackson launched her political career from the South Side home she shared with Jesse Jackson Jr., paid the sewer and water bills while her husband was in prison - and let her sister stay in the house for "extended periods."

And all that is evidence that the couple's increasingly contentious divorce case should be heard in Chicago, Jesse Jackson's lawyers contend.

Jesse Jackson Jr.'s lawyers contend that Chicago is his estranged wife's home only when it was "advantageous to her political career."

"While Ms. Jackson may now choose to live in our nation's capital, we contend that under Illinois law, she continues to be subject to the jurisdiction of our courts," said Brendan Hammer, Jesse Jackson Jr.'s lawyer. "This city may not be sweet home Chicago any longer - but it still has a valid legal basis to subject Ms. Jackson to the justice of its court system."

Jesse Jackson Jr.'s attorneys are trying to get the divorce case heard in Chicago - where they allege "acts" occurred that gave rise to the divorce. Sandi Jackson, however, wants the case heard in Washington D.C., where she is living with their two children, ages 13 and 16.

The motion filed on Tuesday argues that mortgage payments, real estate taxes, utilities, insurance and maintenance of the home have been paid for through marital funds - from when the couple purchased the home in 1994 to the present.

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