Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks publicly about civil right icon's health
Rainbow PUSH held its weekly forum Saturday, where Congressman Jonathan Jackson thanked supporters for their prayers.The mayor says he's been praying for Jackson and recently visited him at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial, also spending time speaking with Jackson's wife.
Rev. Jackson is still hospitalized and is being treated for a rare neurological disorder that affects movement and balance.spoke more about his condition on ThursdayIt was believed Jackson had Parkinson's disease, but officials with Rainbow PUSH said he was diagnosed in April 2025 with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy , a neurodegenerative disease. The 84-year-old gained national attention in the 1960s as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s protégé. Jackson spent more than 60 years advocating for racial equality and economic justice. He ran for U.S. president in 1984 and 1988. He helped to found the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition, an organization dedicated to social justice. He spent nearly three decades leading Rainbow PUSH beforeRev. Jackson's impact has been felt around the world, and people are now sending well-wishes and prayers in return of his lifelong acts of service. "And just, really, what his service has meant to people," Santita Jackson said. "It really, in this moment, has really lifted everybody. I was talking with my father. I said, 'You don't know how many people love you.' And just, really, what his service has meant to people." Rev. Jackson's family says doctors are monitoring his progress, and a timeline on his release remains unclear. Martin Luther King, and his aide Rev. Jesse Jackson are seen in Chicago, Aug. 19, 1966. King holds a Chicago Daily News paper with a headline that reads"City Seeks To Cut Marches.Dr. Jori Fleisher, a neurologist at Rush University Medical Center, said PSP is also known as "Parkinson's plus," or an atypical Parkinson's condition. "People have this unusual tendency in PSP to fall backwards," Dr. Fleisher explained. "It's almost like they are just standing still and they are kind of pushed backwards." Dr. Behzad Elahi is a neurologist at UChicago Medicine. He is not working on Rev. Jackson's case, but described the disease as part of the same family as Parkinson's, but is more rare and more advanced, and it affects chewing, swallowing and balance. It is a disease where those closest to the patient must keep close watch. "Less than 10% of those with Parkinsonism with or Parkinson disease will be diagnosed with PSP," Dr. Elahi said. "The family is everything. Currently, we don't have a cure for the disease. We have some medication that can help with some symptoms, but we currently don't have any cure." Progressive supranuclear palsy is a rare brain disease that affects walking, balance, eye movements and swallowing, according to theThe cause of PSP isn't known, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms come from the damage of brain cells.Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is seen here with Rev. Jesse Jackson, left, just prior to his final public appearance to address striking Memphis sanitation workers on April 4, 1968.
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