Free Republic

We don’t know why Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx went to bat for actor Jussie Smollett. With Monday’s release of a damning statement from special prosecutor Dan Webb, we have an independent review examining how Foxx blew this case: She cut a deal for a celebrity defendant and misled the public numerous times about her actions. Worse, she made a mockery of a prosecutor’s supposedly equitable treatment of all defendants. Webb cleared Foxx and her office of potential criminal conduct and found no sign that anyone tried to improperly influence Foxx. Good news, we guess, for Foxx’s reelection. Otherwise,...

The special prosecutor investigating how Chicago prosecutor Kim Foxx carried out the Jussie Smollett hoax investigation has found “substantial abuses of discretion” in Foxx’s actions. The former Empire star claimed that he was attacked by MAGA hat-wearing racists who beat him and poured bleach on him in downtown Chicago in the dead of night during below zero weather. But a police investigation claimed that Smollett invented the attack. Smollett was arrested and charged with the fraud. But Prosecutor Kim Foxx dismissed the case and released Smollett, dropping the charges. Foxx’s rush to release Smollett sparked an investigation, led by Dan...

In a statement on the conclusions of his investigation, special prosecutor Dan Webb sharply criticized the handling of the Smollett case by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and her assistant prosecutors, saying their handling was marked by disarray and misleading statements. Foxx’s office surprised and angered many in Chicago by dropping charges that accused the former “Empire” actor of staging an alleged racist and homophobic attack against himself. Smollett is still adamant that the attack was real and wasn’t a publicity hoax. Webb’s findings announced Monday came after charges were restored against Smollett by the same special prosecutor in...

Gun violence is surging in Chicago and we’re all shattered by the loss of life, including young lives caught in the crossfire. It is harder than ever for all of us — and especially police — to do our jobs due to COVID-19. The community is frustrated, they’re demanding reform and, sadly, some people are looting. In this environment, it’s natural to look for others to blame. After all, none of us — police, prosecutors, judges or corrections officers — are solely in control of who gets arrested, prosecuted, sentenced and incarcerated. At the moment, the elected leadership at the...

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is dropping felony cases involving charges of murder and other serious offenses . . . During Foxx’s first three years as the county’s top prosecutor, her office dropped all charges against 29.9% of felony defendants, a dramatic increase over her predecessor. Foxx, a Democrat, swept into the state’s attorney’s office in 2016 vowing to reform the criminal justice system and reduce the population of Cook County Jail, which disproportionately holds low-income people of color. She is up for reelection in November. The Tribune found that Foxx’s higher rates of dropped cases included people accused...

“We are waking up in shock this morning,” said Mayor Lori Lightfoot, calling it “brazen criminal looting and destruction.” Chicago Police Supt. David Brown, who joined the mayor for a news conference at CPD headquarters Monday, called it “pure criminality” not connected to any peaceful protest. “Criminals took to the streets with the confidence that there would be no consequences for their actions,” Brown said, adding that police would aggressively pursue cases against people involved in the looting. Brown and Lightfoot also called on the Cook County state’s attorney’s office to handle the arrests from the looting seriously, arguing that...

A gun on the ground, a body on the street, cops, civilians milling about in confusion. A woman was screaming, sitting in her car, parked outside one of the expensive Oak Street boutiques. “What the (bleep)!” she screamed at no one. “What the (bleep)!!!” And I wondered: Is Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot losing the city? Or has she already lost it? Where are Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Foxx’s political patron, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, to stand and tell us what they’re doing to help Lightfoot stop the violence? Where’s Illinois Attorney...

Last week, with violence spiking around the country, I wrote a column on the growing sense of lawlessness in America’s urban areas. In response, the Tribune newspaper union, the Chicago Tribune Guild, which I have repeatedly and politely declined to join, wrote an open letter to management defaming me, by falsely accusing me of religious bigotry and fomenting conspiracy theories. My July 22 column was titled “Something grows in the big cities run by Democrats: An overwhelming sense of lawlessness.” It explored the connections between soft-on-crime prosecutors and increases in violence along with the political donations of left-wing billionaire George...

It’s been almost a year since Dan Webb was named special prosecutor to investigate Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s epic bungling of the Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax case. In just a few weeks, on Sept. 24, early voting begins. There is a choice between incumbent Foxx, the Democrat protege of Toni Preckwinkle, the Cook County Democratic boss and president of the County Board, and Patrick O’Brien, a longtime criminal prosecutor and former judge. Voters are waiting for Webb’s report and answers to a series of troubling questions: Did Foxx give Smollett — the Hollywood actor and Obama White...

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx confirmed Tuesday that her office will err on the side of dismissing charges stemming from arrests at demonstrations and for citywide curfew violations during the week of protests and civil unrest in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Between May 30 and June 6, about 5,000 people across the county were arrested. Half of those resulted in misdemeanor charges, a quarter resulted in felony charges and the rest were curfew violations and disorderly conduct cases. More than 800 of those misdemeanors will be reviewed and likely will be dismissed, the top prosecutor told the...

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is preparing to drop charges against many of those arrested for violating curfew earlier this month during days of protest and civil unrest, according to a local media report. How many of these cases will be dismissed or what criteria will need to be met for these cases to be dropped is not known, but internal emails obtained by Fox 32 shed light on the plan. “Cases are to be nolled (dismissed) where curfew violations or city disorderly conduct was the basis of a stop that led to a felony or misdemeanor case,” First...

CHICAGO - Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, according to an internal email obtained by FOX 32, plans to drop most if not all charges against many of those arrested for curfew violations during protests earlier this month, including felony charges filed after police followed up. FOX 32 obtained the internal email last week from First Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Magats, reading in part: "Cases are to be nolled (dismissed) where curfew violations or city disorderly conduct was the basis of a stop that led to a felony or misdemeanor case....(i)f there are misdemeanor disorderlies where the conduct that was...

The disintegration of Crimesha's office is accelerating: On June 19, 2020, Foxx conducted a voice conference with all the investigators of the SAO. This was a mandatory meeting that included the chief, commanders and all sergeants. According to various investigators, the meeting focused on jubeelee day. Foxx gave a speech to informed all the investigators the importance of This day. She also provided a history lesson on jubeelee day. Foxx when on to say how much Black people have been mistreated by whites. During this meeting, Fox encouraged several white investigators to apologize for their white privilege which they did....

Gov. J.B. Pritzker had a message of empowerment for more than 1,000 people rallying in the south suburbs seeking police accountability and criminal justice reform. Foxx gave a passionate speech about growing up in public housing and the systemic barriers African Americans often face. “I talked about the fact that I come from the projects because the people who come through our system, I have more in common with them than I do with many of the lawyers that work with me,” Foxx said. “And not because we aren’t as brilliant, not because we aren’t as bright, not because we...

After the riots in Chicago, what you noticed was all that broken glass from all the windows of all the looted stores and looted restaurants. Each crunching step was the sound of the city’s breaking heart. Some residents came out early Sunday to help, trying to sweep up the pieces on the ground. “This started out to be about George Floyd,” said a man on Clark Street. “But it turned into something else, about what they could grab and take and ruin. Look at it.” The mayor and the governor finally called out the Illinois National Guard on Sunday to...

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx won her primary race in convincing fashion on Tuesday, according to returns reported by NBC Chicago. Foxx was thrust into the national spotlight in 2019 when she dropped charges against former Empire star Jussie Smollett, who was accused of staging a hate crime against himself in downtown Chicago and blaming the attack, involving a noose and bleach, on supporters of Donald Trump.

Also as of 3PM: Boomers are still the highest turnout percentage today. (41.5% of all voters) Gen Xers are 25% of today’s voters. Election Day Voters: 2020: 119,169 (as of 3pm) 2016: 549,455 2012: 282,303 2008: 525,398 54% Women 46% Men By hour: 6-7am: 5,910 7-8am: 8,465 8-9am: 10,019 9-10am: 12,129 10-11am: 14,891 11am-Noon: 16,122 Noon – 1pm: 15,938 1-2pm: 16,475 2-3pm: 16,339 64% of the voters so far today are over 50 years old. 44% are over 60 years old. 21 percent of voters so far today are 70 years old or older. 17-29 years old - Just over...

Though Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx won Tuesday’s four-way primary in her bid for reelection, her comparatively weak performance compared to 2016 suggests she won’t necessarily cruise to victory in November. Foxx had won 48% of the Democratic vote and was leading her nearest opponent, Bill Conway, by about 15 percentage points. With 95% of suburban precincts reporting, Foxx had won just 43% of the Democratic vote, seven points ahead of Conway, who conceded to Foxx Tuesday night. I see more than a hint of political vulnerability in these results. Though Foxx has dismissed the controversy over her handling...

“I want to be clear,” Foxx said during a Democratic candidate debate. “This race is not about one case.” You gave a break to a TV star who faked a racist, homophobic hate crime in Chicago and blamed it on Trump supporters, a wild, irresponsible claim that stoked racial and political tensions. He had Obama White House friends. One called you on his behalf. He was indicted on 16 counts, but you cut him loose and dropped the charges, and lied about “recusing” yourself. I agree that this race is about more than Smollett. It’s about people in Cook County...

When apparent hoaxer Empire actor Jussie Smollett’s charges were controversially dropped last year for allegedly faking a hate crime incident, the twitter page for the Empire writers rubbed it in everyone’s faces. Now, liberal megadonor George Soros is giving millions in an apparent effort to help the controversial Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, whose office dropped the charges against Smollett, remain in power. The Big Three are ignoring it. A LexisNexis search showed that the Big Three (ABC News, NBC News, CBS News) failed to report this information between Feb. 20-Feb. 24.