State’s Attorney Kim Foxx faced a vote of “no confidence” from associations of every police department in Cook County, Illinois.

The police chiefs and Chicago’s police union made a stand Thursday in delivering the “no confidence” vote against Foxx for what they claim is a mishandling of felony cases and a lack of leadership in the wake of the Jussie Smollett case, WLS-TV reported.

Foxx has been under heavy fire since her office’s controversial decision to drop all of the charges against the “Empire” actor who allegedly staged a fake hate crime on himself.

The North Suburban Chiefs of Police, the West Suburban Chiefs of Police, and the South Suburban Chiefs of Police took a united stance against Foxx, WLS-TV reported in an earlier story.  Many of the police chiefs joined officials from the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police on Thursday.

Now posted: Full text of “no confidence” letter sent to Kim Foxx by north suburban police chiefs. Jussie Smollet case is called “the latest and most egregious example of the failure by you and your staff to hold offenders accountable.”

Link: https://t.co/DAAPd0wpHv pic.twitter.com/O1zi8ZspCq

— Roy F. McCampbell (@royfmc) April 4, 2019

The station reported that Foxx, who supposedly recused herself from the Smollett case in February, at first declined to comment on the planned move, but fired back after the report was aired.

“Unfortunately, this is an excuse to justify their resistance to our prioritizing resources to increase public safety and reduce harm” a spokesperson for Foxx told WLS-TV on Wednesday. “Our assistant state’s attorneys work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to address violence in our communities.”

WLS-TV reported:

The I-Team has obtained a “no confidence letter” sent to Foxx from the North Suburban Chiefs of Police, ripping her for the Smollett decision and expressing the deep concerns they have regarding her leadership of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, specifically in the areas of felony review, non-prosecution of certain low-level offenses, and the handling of the recent Jussie Smollett matter.

The north suburban chief’s letter states what all three organizations say they have decided: that It appears Foxx’s strategy to address non-violent crime in Cook County is to decriminalize or ignore it, regardless of any collateral cost which is born overwhelmingly by individual communities and their police agencies.

Foxx’s handling of the case is “the latest and most egregious example of the failure by you and your staff to hold offenders accountable,” North Suburban Association of Chiefs of Police President Duane Mellema said in the “no-confidence” letter sent to Foxx, according to CWB Chicago.

“The Chicago Police Department worked in excess of 1,700 hours investigating the false claim of a hate crime. They diverted significant resources, and a substantial portion of a limited overtime budget to build this case with your staff,” Mellema wrote. “To have the charges dismissed with no explanation and a sealed court file shows a lack of respect for the professionals you work with.”

“It is because of our solemn responsibility that the Police Executives in our organization have considered and passed a vote of no confidence in your performance of your duties as Cook County State’s Attorney,” the letter concluded.

Despite Smollett being indicted by a grand jury, the office of the Cook County State’s Attorney inexplicably dropped the charges against the actor. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago police blasted the decision in scathing rebukes, releasing the complete 61-page investigative report in the alleged staged hate crime. The city is also billing the actor for $130,000 to cover overtime costs police incurred in the investigation.

After the felony charges against Smollett were dropped, the case was sealed, sparking more red flags and outcry. Foxx addressed the criticism by claiming that the case being sealed was “inadvertent.” Foxx could face up to 20 years in prison if corruption is found in the controversial case.

Cook County state’s attorney Kim Foxx could face up to 20 years if corruption found in Smollett case, fmr. deputy AG says https://t.co/HBFCFbaWDZ

— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) March 29, 2019

**Update: Smollett defiantly refused to reimburse Chicago PD for the cost of the investigation and opened up another fight… and another angle for the police to make sure, in one way or another, he sees justice.

Defiant Smollett makes a costly mistake, Chicago PD and former prosecutor gear up for battle https://t.co/vB7OPLNpv2

— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) April 5, 2019

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Frieda Powers

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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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