Chicago Demands $130K From Smollett For Investigation Costs

CHICAGO — City officials have ordered actor Jussie Smollett to pay $130,000 to cover the cost of the police investigation into his attack that police say was staged for publicity. The Chicago Corporation Counsel is seeking compensation for police overtime pay and other resources that were dedicated to the investigation, a city spokesperson said.

If Smollett doesn't pay $130,000 to the city, officials may pursue legal action, according to a letter to Smollett's legal team obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.

“The Chicago Police Department conducted an extensive investigation into this report," the letter read. "Over two dozen detectives and police officers participated in the investigation, ultimately spending weeks investigating the false claims, including a substantial number of overtime hours.”

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and police Supt. Eddie Johnson expressed outrage earlier this week after prosecutors dropped all 16 felony charges against Smollett. Police say the actor staged his own homophobic and racist attack in January to promote his career.

After a court hearing Tuesday, Smollett said he's been "truthful and consistent on every level since day one."

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx has come under fire for her office's role in dropping the charges against Smollett. The Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association said the office's handling of the case is not "representative of the honest ethical work prosecutors provide" across the state. In a media release, the association called Smollett's dismissal "abnormal" and "unfamiliar."

Foxx's office said that the outcome of Smollett's case — alternative prosecution — is not an unusual one for the Class 4 felonies that Smollett was charged with. The office emphasized that the actor was not exonerated.

"The charges were dropped in return for Mr. Smollett's agreement to do community service and forfeit his $10,000 bond to the City of Chicago. Without the completion of these terms, the charges would not have been dropped," the state's attorney's office said in a statement. "This outcome was met under the same criteria that would occur for and is available to any defendant with similar circumstances."

The Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association said the office's claim is inaccurate.

"This action was highly unusual, not a statutory diversion program, and not in accordance with well accepted practices of State’s Attorney initiated diversionary programs," the association said in the release. "The IPBA supports diversion programs, and recognizes the many benefits they provide to the community, the defendant and to the prosecuting agency. Central to any diversion program, however, is that the defendant must accept responsibility. To be clear here, this simply was not a deferred prosecution."

The bar association also said that the state's attorney's office "falsely informed the public that the uncontested sealing of the criminal court case was 'mandatory' under Illinois law." The action was discretionary, not mandatory, and only upon the proper filing of a petition to seal, the association said.

In response to the association's comments on the sealing of the court case, a spokesperson with the state's attorney's office said it's "any defendant's statutory right, per the statute," and referenced state law.

Meanwhile Illinois State Rep. Michael McAuliffe, a Republican, is pushing for legislation that would punish any film company that hires Smollett. Under the bill, any movie or television production company that employs the actor would forfeit tax credits awarded by the state.

The Department of Justice and FBI will review the Smollett case, President Donald Trump said in a tweet Thursday morning. The president called the case "outrageous" and an "embarrassment" to the United States.

Smollett, who is gay and biracial, claimed he was attacked in Chicago in January by men who yelled homophobic and racial slurs at him. The actor also claimed that, during the attack, the men called out, "This is MAGA country," a reference to Trump's campaign slogan.

Police said Smollett paid two brothers to stage the attack to advance his career.

City officials said that if Smollett fails to pay the $130,000, he could be charged wtih violating a city ordinance.

Read also:

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• Don't Buy Rahm Emanuel's Phony Jussie Smollett Outrage, America