The fallout from the Cook County (Chicago) State’s Attorney’s Office’s handling of the explosive Jussie Smollett hoax case has continued unabated to this day.
Two of State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s top staff members tendered their resignations not long after Foxx announced she had dropped the 16 felony charges against Smollett, 37, a decision that ignited political fireworks from Chicago City Hall all the way to the White House.
These announcements also come in the immediate aftermath of Foxx’s text messages about her office’s handling of the Smollett case having been made public.
The chief ethics officer, April Perry, and the chief of the Conviction Integrity Unit, Mark Rotert, have both announced they are quitting in the coming days and weeks. The resignations will take effect on May 3, 2019. Both deputies say their departures are unrelated to the Smollett case, and a spokesperson told the Chicago Tribune the same thing.
Rotert is retiring, the Washington Post reports, while Perry is leaving to work as general counsel for a technology firm.
The Chicago police, along with the former mayor, the White House and local police union officials all believe that the “Empire” actor staged a hoax beatdown in the middle of the night that was designed to make it appear it was perpetrated by Donald Trump sympathizers. Smollett also said the two men yelled homophobic and racist rhetoric while attacking the actor.
The high-profile investigation reportedly cost the Chicago Police Department more than $100,000 in man-hours and overtime.
The city of Chicago sent a $130,000 bill to Smollett demanding he reimburse the city for their troubles. When Smollett refused to pick up the tab, the city formerly filed a lawsuit against Smollett.
