as the family home and base for his service in Congress prior to her election. Prior to being elected, Jackson resided four days a week in Chicago and three days a week in Washington D.C. The Jacksons have two children, Jessica Donatella Jackson (born March 13, 2000) and Jesse Louis Jackson, III, who is nicknamed "Tre", (born September 19, 2003). Sarah Stevens accompanies the family on commutes between Chicago and Washington. Jessica attended school in the Washington Metropolitan Area before Jackson's service on the city council. After Jackson was elected to serve as a full-time politician in a local legislative body in Chicago, she and her husband decided to have their children attend school in Chicago starting in the fall of 2007. Later, however, the family decided to keep their base in Washington. The family's residential choice has been a campaign issue as well as fodder for a local op-ed discussant. Jackson had suffered multiple miscarriages before the birth of her two children. In a highly publicized medical case, she lost a boy who was born four months premature at University of Utah Medical Center in 1998. Complications arose while the couple was attending a youth leadership conference in Deer Valley 20 miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah. Jackson survived a three-hour surgical removal of a benign tumor from her neck on May 7, 2008. During the 2008 Christmas holidays, the family suffered a fire and was forced to spend the holiday season in a downtown hotel. In 2001, Jackson had a chili recipe published in "The Barking Gourmet," the St. Albans School family cookbook. On July 14, 2016, Jackson's husband filed for divorce from her in Cook County, Illinois. They reached a settlement in April 2018. Early political experience Early in Jackson's political career she served as press secretary for United States Congressman Mickey Leland. After the 1988 Democratic National Convention, she began working for Michael Dukakis who had become the Democratic party's nominee for United States President in the 1988 United States presidential election. Jackson's political career prior to her election as 7th Ward Alderman included the following positions: Deputy Director of Training for the Democratic National Committee, Director of Scheduling Operations for Rev. Jesse Jackson, Vice President of Congressional and External Affairs for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (appointed by Bill Clinton), Director of VIP Relations for the Presidential Inaugural Committee, National Outreach Coordinator