March 20, 2001 Tuesday, STATEWIDE

SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. A16

LENGTH: 456 words

HEADLINE: JESSE JACKSON MEETS THE IRS

BODY:
   Tax-exempt, nonprofit corporations are supposed to report to the Internal Revenue Service the salaries of their highest paid officers. That legal requirement was omitted in one conspicuous case involving one of the Rev. Jesse Jackson's enterprises, the Citizenship Education Fund.

   Karin L. Stanford's name and compensation was missing from the organization's 1999 IRS form, although she was one of the highest paid employees at CEF.

   The picture became clearer in recent months when Mr. Jackson acknowledged that he had an extramarital affair with Ms. Stanford, who bore their child. She apparently received "severance" payments when she left CEF.

    Backed into a corner by the publicity and by the IRS and private watchdogs, officials at Mr. Jackson's organization essentially said, "Oops! We made a mistake. Ms. Stanford's name was inadvertently omitted from the IRS form. We will file an amended return."

   Oh yes, Mr. Jackson also came out fighting. He charged his critics with racism and claimed that he was a victim of a right-wing conspiracy. Have you heard that one before?

   Surely some of Mr. Jackson's critics are motivated by their political differences with him, but that's not the point. Mr. Jackson's indiscretion is shameful, scarcely befitting a minister and a supposed role model for rectitude and responsible behavior.

   Apparently, he's been running a loose ship at the four interconnected groups, which also includes the Rainbow/PUSH coalition.

   The American Conservative Union, in a complaint filed with the IRS, charges that the CEF used charitable funds improperly in giving Ms. Stanford a settlement package.

   Some groups critical of Mr. Jackson also contend that he leads or threatens boycotts and protests against corporations engaged in merger talks but backs off after the firms pledge money to his nonprofit groups or give business to his friends. He admits to the tactic but claims to have broken no law. The IRS should determine that.

   Mr. Jackson's critics also suggest that his groups violate their tax-exempt status because part of their travel budget comes from Democratic Party. He says he's done nothing wrong because his advocacy on the road is limited to nonpartisan get-out-the-vote campaigns.
 

   In fact, Mr. Jackson was also a strong supporter of former Vice President Al Gore in the last election and said so often. The possibility that his tax-exempt entities were impermissibly involved in political activities should be investigated.

   Mr. Jackson has done good work helping low-income people and standing up for civil rights over the years. He also has a right to be a partisan. But the IRS has good reason to check on whether his tax-exempt organizations are playing by
the rules.