Free Republic

The U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, defended Vice President Mike Pence against accusations of homophobia alleged by Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and compared the claims to a “hate hoax along the lines of Jussie Smollett.” “Mayor Pete has been pushing this hate hoax along the lines of Jussie Smollett for a very long time now, several weeks,” Grenell, who is openly gay, said Thursday on “The Story with Martha MacCallum.” Smollett, an actor, is accused of faking a hate crime and is currently being sued by the city of Chicago.

A Depression-era mural depicting white children playing outside in the winter was removed from Percy Julian Middle School in Oak Park because school officials said it failed to represent the school’s diversity. While some said the mural was upsetting to students of color who felt it excluded them from the school, a local historian likened the removal to a “modern-day book burning.” Cynthia Brito Millan, a coordinator for the middle school’s Social Justice Club, said the push to remove the mural began in February at a district school board meeting. Students expressed frustration about an atmosphere of exclusion for students...

Carolyn Carpeneti, Mayor Willie Brown's fund-raiser and mother of his 2-year-old daughter, has been paid at least $2.33 million over the past five years by nonprofit groups and political committees controlled by the mayor and his allies, public records show. The relationship intensified after Brown was elected. ... According to people who know them, then-Assembly Speaker Brown met her at a party during the 1995 mayor's race. Brown, who is married but has been separated from his wife for 25 years, was dating lawyer Kamala Harris, now a candidate for district attorney. Nevertheless, Brown soon phoned Carpeneti and invited her...

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx described “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett as a “washed up celeb who lied to cops” in texts messages released Tuesday by her office in response to a public-records request by the Chicago Tribune. Foxx compared Smollett’s case to her office’s pending indictments against R&B singer R. Kelly in text messages to Joseph Magats, her top assistant, on March 8, the paper reported “Pedophile with 4 victims 10 counts. Washed up celeb who lied to cops, 16 (counts),” she wrote. “… Just because we can charge something doesn’t mean we should.”

Kim Foxx: I welcome this investigation and pledge my full cooperation and the cooperation of my office as [Inspector General] [Patrick] Blanchard conducts his review.

by Jenn Carter The City of Chicago has filed a civil suit against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, seeking to recover the cost of Chicago Police Department overtime hours expended searching for the perpetrators of a "hate crime" that Smollett allegedly perpetrated against himself. And unlike the criminal case, which was dropped by an embattled prosecutor, Smollett is "almost certain" to LOSE this case, according to one legal expert -- and a ton of money along with it -- far more than the amount currently sought. Looks like Jussie should have settled when he had the chance. Here's more... Chicago's...

Jussie Smollett has just been hammered with a lawsuit the City of Chicago promised ... and he may effectively go on trial for allegedly staging the "attack" in January. All told, the City wants what will almost certainly be upwards of a half a million dollars. The lawsuit -- to recover the costs of investigating the case -- outlines what the City claims Jussie did. It says Jussie and Abel Osundairo had been friends since 2017 -- socializing and exercising together. It says Abel assisted Jussie in obtaining recreational drugs. The lawsuit claims Jussie told Abel shortly before the "attack,"...

Jussie Smollett was all smiles during a day at the beach in Hawaii on Wednesday as he enjoyed some down time with his family while the legal fallout from his sensational case raged on in Chicago. The 36-year-old Empire actor was pictured laughing as he ate , talked to his sisters and unloaded a car with children's bags and towels for a fun-filled day out. They were spotted at the Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park in Kailua on the Big Island.

An Assistant State’s Attorney in Foxx’s office sent the following essay to express a view from inside the office. We publish the piece in its entirety. The author asked to remain anonymous. The State’s Attorney’s Office is an international laughingstock, as politicians, comedians, scholars, legal pundits and citizens blast its handling of the Jussie Smollett case. The criticism pointed squarely at Kim Foxx, the first African American female elected to fill the prestigious role of Cook County State’s Attorney. In the wake of criticism, Ms. Foxx spoke at a Rainbow PUSH meeting and stated she cannot run an office “driven...

Kim Foxx's handling of the Jussie Smollett case includes a long list of miscalculations. Add to it her decision to stand with U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., as he called the Police "the sworn enemy of black people." Questions about Foxx are grounded in decisions she made to insert herself into the Smollett case, to drop all charges against him and to let court records stay sealed without protest. Her explanations regarding the case have been condescending and inconsistent. Foxx is the lead prosecutor of the nation's second-largest county. She is law enforcement. It might have been Foxx's most egregious...

Lori Lightfoot, Chicago's newly elected mayor, is probably wondering right about now what she was thinking when she wanted to be mayor of one of the nation's most dangerous cities. Temperatures rose into the mid-60s this weekend and city residents, tired of the long, long winter, poured into the streets and parks to take advantage of the warm weather. More targets for the gang bangers. At a baby shower in the Englewood neighborhood, six people were shot, including an 8-year-old boy who was shot in the back and chest, and a 10-year-old girl who was hit in the shin. Four...

Sen. Cory Booker on Monday introduced a bill that would study the possibility of reparations for descendants of slaves, embracing a push that recently has caught the interest of fellow 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. The senator from New Jersey said Monday that “this bill is a way of addressing head-on the persistence of racism, white supremacy, and implicit racial bias in our country. It will bring together the best minds to study the issue and propose solutions that will finally begin to right the economic scales of past harms and make sure we are a country where all dignity and...

A Reddit page dedicated to black issues has declared that white people are no longer allowed to post there anymore. The forum, r/BlackPeopleTwitter, posted an “important announcement,” which stated, “Due to the overwhelming number of white people and white opinions present on BTP, we are now restricting access to this sub for black folks only.” Non-black people then responded to the post by humiliating themselves, embracing their white guilt, and begging to be allowed to post again. “Super white dude here. I’d like to apply for the token white guy position,” responded one white user. “I won’t post or comment...

Jussie Smollett cried "racism" when he staged his fake attack in Chicago. He was holding a hot potato when Chicago cops found out he made the whole thing up, paying the Nigerians with a check he signed. But Smollett had prosecutor Kim Foxx (and a whole lot of political connections she might find useful) in his tree and then got off scot-free for filing a false police report. Then Foxx found herself holding the hot potato. How's she reacting? Well, like Smollett, who cried fake racism to get more money and influence, she's trying to toss the hot potato to...

After a week of heated protests and calls for her resignation, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and African-American leaders condemned Chicago’s police union and defended how the prosecutor’s office addressed an actor’s alleged hate crime hoax. Foxx vowed to remain at her post during a Saturday news conference, despite intense controversy sparked in March when her office dropped a 16-count indictment that accused television actor Jussie Smollett of orchestrating a racist and homophobic attack on himself to advance his career. Foxx declined to address “the substance of the case” with reporters gathered at the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition...

(CNN)Lori Lightfoot has been elected the next mayor of Chicago, according to the Associated Press, becoming the first African-American woman picked to lead the country's third-most populous city. Lightfoot faced a historic runoff Tuesday against Toni Preckwinkle, who is also an African-American woman. "This may not be the outcome we wanted but while I may be disappointed, I'm not disheartened," Preckwinkle told supporters after she called Lightfoot to congratulate her. Mayor Rahm Emanuel was not in the race, as he was not seeking a third term. Lightfoot, 56, a former assistant US attorney, describes herself as "an out and proud...

The 50th Annual NAACP Awards were handed out this weekend, and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California) was honored with the Chairman’s Award. “Extra’s” Terri Seymour was with Waters backstage, where she talked about the honor and about Jussie Smollett. Maxine Waters: "It's the correct thing that the charges were dropped," said the 80-year-old Democratic Congresswoman from California in a Sunday interview with Extra at the NAACP Image Awards. "First of all, we probably will never know all of the details. We’ve heard a lot of information," said Waters. "No one was hurt — that is, physically, killed, shot — he never...

... Indefatigable truth seekers -- such as independent journalist Andy Ngo, Glenn Beck’s The Blaze network and the Daily Caller news website -- have chronicled a list of roughly 20 prominent “hate crimes” that enthralled the media but, after further review by the booth, were phonier than a used car salesman’s smile. Mostly, said cases involved black, Muslim or LGBT folks claiming an assault by the MAGA brigades. ...

CHICAGO (AP) – The Rev. Jesse Jackson and other clergy are planning a rally in support of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, who’s faced criticism since her office dropped charges against actor Jussie Smollett. Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition says the civil rights leader will join fellow clergy, elected officials, attorneys and community activists for a Monday morning rally at the Chicago Temple supporting Foxx. Jackson says in a statement that the criticism of Foxx is “unreasonable, unjustified and politically motivated.”

What do New York, San Francisco and Chicago all have in common? They’re all willing victims of socialism. The far-left political ideologies that have consumed these cities are now driving them deep into financial ruin — and citizens are fleeing in greater numbers every year. Whether it’s a lack of job opportunity, exorbitantly expensive housing costs, or high taxes, there’s no shortage of bones to pick with socialist policies. While liberals may herald socialism as the progressive dream, its ideologies don’t hold up very well in the real world.