Sweeping Smollett Under the Rug [EDITORIAL]

It’s almost unheard of to imagine a mayor and police commissioner stand so starkly against their chief prosecutor. But does anything political surprise you in today’s day and age?

In most cities, residents would be shocked if the long-time mayor called out the prosecutor for running a crooked system that allowed a celebrity like Jussie Smollett to walk freely from charges that he staged a hate crime. 

But this is Chicago. A city that’s history is deeply rooted in corruption and political chess games. Is it really unfathomable to think that the old forms of “mob style” corruption still exist in today’s day and age? Especially in Chicago?

With the assistance of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, Smollett is walking away from 16 felony charges, resulting from a grand jury indictment. Foxx’s office decided to drop all charges. 

Jussie blamed the alleged attack on fictional Trump supporters. When he reported his story to officials, he recounted fighting off his attackers with a sandwich in one hand and his iPhone in the other, according to police reports.  

But there’s always more to the story. 

The State’s Attorney’s office didn’t just drop all the charges against Smollett. 

Reports first surfaced of Kim Foxx playing a game of “Celebrity Best Friends” with Michelle Obama’s former chief of staff. 

Foxx’s office indeed decided to drop the charges. But also as part of the deal, her office provided Smollett with a “Magic Eraser.” His record was expunged, in an unheard of move by prosecutors in a case like this. The associated court records were sealed.  

The lifelong trail of a 16 counts indictment was wiped clean from him. 

Some Chicagoans have said that Foxx “bathed him in the waters of corrupt politics” and made a new man out of him.

Now, he’s left the city for a Hawaiian vacation with one big smirk.  And the “cold shoulder” is being felt by the mayor, the cops, everyone. Claiming consistency in his story, virtually spitting in the face of career detectives who were taken away from investigating real crimes. 

“The case has been expunged. I can’t even tell you if Jussie Smollett was ever arrested or charged,” said an anonymous Chicago Police official in an interview with the Sun Times.  

Foxx initially attempted to control the bad press by keeping quiet. Her recusal from the case was prompted by a call from lawyer Tina Tchen, Michelle Obama’s former chief of staff. 

The state’s attorney later spoke publicly, saying Tchen reportedly was seeking help to lobby the Chicago Police Department in Smollett’s favor. It didn’t work.

Foxx proved to be completely out of her depth on that one. The chief prosecutor quickly became compromised and was compelled to recuse herself. (but she didn’t completely, right?0

After this forced rescue of sorts, Joseph Magats, the first assistant state’s attorney, took over.

“We have not exonerated him,” Magats told local television affiliates, shortly after the announcement of the dismissal. “I can’t make it any clearer.”

You can’t make it any clearer? It’s almost like you thought we weren’t paying attention. 

Smollett is a rising African-American TV star and advocate for the LGBT community. Your boss tangled herself up doing credibility damage to the case, creating a PR crisis for the office. So, you decided to cut him a deal, looking to put the case behind you. 

But this wasn’t just any deal. Smollett had his cake and ate it, too. Filled with an expungement and a few days doing odd jobs at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. 

I wonder if he sold any of the acclaimed Jesse Jackson action figures during his visit. 

Rainbow Push Coalition later told TheBlaze that it had no clue his volunteer work had anything to do with the criminal case.

After the press scrambled to cover the surprise “emergency” hearing, intended to seal the fate of the deal made with prosecutors, the outgoing Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel didn’t waste time. 

He put his rhetorical teeth to Foxx, and later, former Obama advisor David Axelrod poured salt in an open wound by bringing up Anita Alvarez, when Alvarez was the fall guy for the Laquan McDonald catastrophize.

“This is without a doubt a whitewash of justice,” Emanuel said shortly after, flanked by CPD top brass.

Emanuel shouldn’t be taken lightly in an instance like this. He’s somewhat of a political mastermind, known for his precision when attacking opponents. 

A wordsmith among many. Even when angry, you can tell that he carefully considers the context of each jab. Like his constant use of “whitewash” several times during his press conference. I would bet you that it was no accident. 

To this day, I still can’t come to a sensible conclusion as to why the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office decided to drop the charges. Only time will tell if Chicago can grow beyond the anguish and frustration surrounding this case.