Days after Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx suddenly dropped all 16 felony charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, letting him off scot-free, a group of police chiefs are showing her they vehemently disagree with her decision - and come to think of it, many other decisions too. On Thursday, The North Suburban Association of Chiefs of Police, which represents more than 30 North Suburban Cook County police departments, joined the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police to announce they have passed a "Vote of No Confidence" vote in her.
Duane Mellema, president of The North Suburban Association of Chiefs of Police, warned her of the vote in a letter, explaining the Smollett affair was just one of many grievances among the police. Or, as Mellema called it, "the straw that broke the camel's back."
“The abrupt dropping of the 16 indictments against 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett during an unannounced court hearing on March 26, 2019, is the latest and most egregious example of the failure by you and your staff to hold offenders accountable,” he writes.
Since Foxx took office in 2016, the police chiefs have received "contradictory guidance" on their felony review process, he continues. In particular, Mellema is baffled by Foxx's decision not to prosecute marijuana offenders, or those guilty of retail theft.
"It appears your 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 forces," Mellema concludes.
It's not just that Foxx dropped the charges against Smollett, it's that she failed to notify the police chiefs. The Chicago PD have demanded an investigation into her actions. At today's press conference, they also called for her resignation.
Don't worry though, just because police are fuming over Foxx doesn't mean that they have no ire left for Smollett, who Mellema notes cost the city money and 1,700 hours as they investigated his alleged fake hate crime.
"It pissed everybody off," Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said at the time.