Jackson to update group's tax return to include mistress

CHICAGO (AP) _ The Rev. Jesse Jackson said he will amend the tax return of one of his nonprofit groups to reflect money paid to a staffer who was his mistress. <br><br>The staffer, Karin Stanford, was

Thursday, March 8th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

CHICAGO (AP) _ The Rev. Jesse Jackson said he will amend the tax return of one of his nonprofit groups to reflect money paid to a staffer who was his mistress.

The staffer, Karin Stanford, was not included on the 1999 tax return filed by the Citizenship Education Fund. Other staff members' names also were omitted. Jackson called the omissions inadvertent.

``There is no evidence, none, of illegality or impropriety,'' Jackson said in Thursday's New York Times.

He has been under scrutiny since his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition acknowledged in January that it paid $35,000 in severance pay to Stanford, with whom Jackson had a child.

Jackson told the Chicago Sun-Times that he lives modestly despite estimating his annual income at about $430,000.

``I've made most of my money through outside speaking engagements, which I don't do as much of as I used to, and my CNN program,'' Jackson said. ``We've always made the choice to live rather modestly. I didn't have to do that, but that's a choice my family made.''

He said his wife, Jacqueline Jackson, manages his family's affairs and said he doesn't have a checking account or a credit card.

``She runs that,'' Jackson said. ``That's what she does. I have to borrow money from her to get a soft drink.''

Jackson's four organizations have distinct agendas and budgets, but they share some board members, top staffers and office space, according to a report he released this week.

The 1999 return for the Citizenship Education Fund listed ``none'' in the section asking for the names of any employee making more than $50,000. Stanford, whose salary was $120,000 that year, should have been included on the list, though a spokesman for Jackson said it was not clear if she was paid the full amount.

The group will file an amended return including Stanford's name and those of other staff members who had been omitted, said Billy R. Owens, chief financial officer for Jackson's nonprofit groups.