INTEL REPORT--As we continue to follow along with the soap operatic saga known as Jussie Smollett’s Chicago case, many have expressed a desire for it all to be over. The rollercoaster of plot twists — including the biggest of them all, when all charges were dropped, abruptly — sent everyone in a tailspin, and frankly, it was exhausting.
Though current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was basically blowing smoke out of his ears like a character straight out of a Looney Tunes scene featuring a villain with foiled plans, newly-elected Mayor Lori Lightfoot believes the city has other priorities. Earlier this month, Emanuel demanded the 36-year-old actor-singer fork over $130,000 to recoup costs to the Chicago Police Department for allegedly wasting the force’s resources and to take care of billable “overtime hours.”
It Ain't Over: Chicago Demands Jussie Smollett Pay $130K for Wasting Everybody's Time
I believe it was my mother who first taught me the value of “Let go and let God” the first time a woman stole one of my hoodies and refused to give it back.
As I’ve since learned that this is a common occurrence and a black man’s rite of passage, I no longer harbor ill will against those who wish to plunder my precious winter garments, and instead focused my energy on installing a fingerprint scanner on my bedroom door.
To that point, police officers, legislators and white folks in general in Chicago have suffered many a sleepless night since Empire star Jussie Smollett had every last felony charge dropped in relation to his alleged homophobic attack.
They’ve bitched. They’ve moaned.
They’ve deemed it a “whitewash of justice.” They’ve threatened to withhold tax credits from Empire. They’ve even told Jussie to run them their coins for forcing the city to spend $130,000 on the investigation.
“I’m not going to comment on any pending litigation. Obviously this was a decision that was made by the current mayor, Rahm Emanuel,” Lightfoot said in a statement via ABC Chicago. “We’ve got a lot of things on our plate, a lot of pressing issues that are truly affecting people’s lives. This doesn’t rank as a matter of any importance to me.”
Recently, the city’s police union demanded Cook County’s State Attorney Kim Foxx resign amid her office’s decision to drop the 16 charges against Smollett.
However, Foxx appears to be an open book and wants the truth to come out into the light. On Friday, Foxx confirmed she is in “full cooperation” with the investigation, which will be led by Inspector General Patrick Blanchard.
“[Blanchard’s] a career Cook County prosecutor before he became the inspector general. Very well respected, very smart, and he’s a man of integrity,” said former prosecutor Bob Milan, who added that Foxx’s decision could potentially “prevent a special prosecutor from being appointed.”
Lightfoot will be officially sworn in as Chicago’s 56th Mayor on May 20.
(Tonja Renée Stidhum is a staff writer, at The Root where this piece originated.)
-cw
