The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee has announced that it is resuming its investigation into U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-2). The committee is looking into whether the congressman misused public resources in an attempt to petition for President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat. The Department of Justice was granted a request that the probe be halted during former governor Rod Blagojevich's re-trial because Jackson Jr. was on their witness list.

Former congresswoman Debbie Halvorson, who is running against Jackson Jr. for his seat in the 2nd congressional district, commented on the Ethics Committee's decision resume the investigation: "The House Ethics Committee’s decision to look into possible ethics violations by Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. is proof that he continues to be plagued with distractions over his possible role in Rod Blagojevich’s pay-to-play scandal involving President Obama’s former Senate seat. We should have a Representative that is focusing on job creation and economic development for our district — not on ethics investigations."

The Ethics Committee is expected to wrap up the investigation by December 2.