CHICAGO , Illinois ( CNN ) -- U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. said Friday that he was fighting to get `` my name back '' after he was identified as `` Senate Candidate 5 '' in a criminal complaint against Illinois Gov . Rod Blagojevich . Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. says neither he nor any emissaries offered favors in exchange for a Senate appointment . Jackson , the son of famed civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and a six-term Democratic congressman from Chicago , had publicly sought to succeed President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate . Jackson had talked to Blagojevich , the person with the sole power to make the appointment , on Monday , just one day before federal agents arrested the Illinois governor . Jackson said he only presented his credentials and polling information that suggests he could win re-election in 2010 . Jackson said he had fought corruption `` since day one '' but said he could not serve as Illinois senator until his name was cleared in the public eye . `` While I would be honored to serve the people of this state , it is clear to me that I am in no capacity to serve them if there is a cloud over my head that seems to suggest that I am involved in some unscrupulous scheme to be a United States senator or anything else , '' Jackson told CNN 's Don Lemon . Prosecutors accuse Blagojevich of selling the Senate seat in exchange for campaign contributions and other favors . However , they did not accuse Jackson or any of the other candidates referred to in the complaint of wrongdoing . Jackson denied participating in the `` pay to play '' politics that Blagojevich is accused of in a federal criminal complaint . Jackson also said he was eager to talk to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald about his role . `` When it 's over , I want everyone to know that I want my name back . ... I 'm fighting now for my character , and I 'm also fighting for my life , '' he said . `` This is about my children being able to Google their name in five years and there be nothing there associated with them that suggests anything wrong . '' Watch Jackson say he wants his name back » . Jackson said he does not understand why Blagojevich believed he would trade favors in exchange for an appointment to the Senate , saying he had `` nothing to offer but my record of public service . '' He also said he did not send an emissary -- including his father or his brother , Jonathan -- to Blagojevich offering favors . `` When the facts become clear ... I think the American people will recognize that the governor of our state is a little different , '' he said . Watch Jackson question the governor 's mental capacity » . Jackson said it is wrong for politicians to believe they can gain personally as a result of holding public office . `` I think that there is a disconnect between public service and private sacrifice . ... If for one moment you think that public service is also private gain , then you are trampling on very , very unsteady ground that is likely to force you and good people with good names in a very different process , '' he said . CNN 's Scott J. Anderson contributed to this report .
Jackson appears as ` ` Senate ' 5 '' in complaint against Blagojevich . Representative says he can not serve as a senator while under an ethical cloud . Jackson says he did not offer favors to Blagojevich in exchange for Senate seat . Chicago Democrat says he is eager to talk to Jackson and clear his name .