Simmering racial and political tensions with local and national implications bubbled to the surface Monday, during two competing protests in Chicago. Prompted by prosecutors’ handling of actor Jussie Smollett’s alleged crimes, The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Chicago Lodge Seven sponsored a protest of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. That protest was held in front of the Cook County Administration Building on 69 West Washington, where the CCSA has offices. The FOP is Chicago police’s union. Meanwhile, counter-protesters gathered to protest the police. (RELATED: Owens: Jussie Smollett Deserves the Nobel Peace Prize) The crowd of several hundred people was split fairly evenly. CPD Protests Foxx The police were protesting Foxx’s handling of the Jussie Smollett case, where she made a dubious deal and then made contradictory statements about it. “Kim Foxx must go,” the crowd favoring the police chanted repeatedly. Their supporters wore hats and pins that read, “Back the Blue.” Foxx recently even admitted that while she claimed for weeks to have recused herself, she did not actually do so. “The State’s Attorney did not formally recuse herself or the Office based on any actual conflict of interest,” a spokesperson told Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass for a March 28 column. “Although we use the term ‘recuse’ as it relates to State’s Attorney Foxx’s involvement in the matter, it was a colloquial use of the term rather in its legal sense,” the spokesperson said later in Kass’ column. (RELATED: Jesse Jackson: ‘Outrage’ Over Jussie Smollett Case Is ‘Fake News’) Kass was at the rally; The Daily Caller caught him quickly interviewing Jesse Jackson, who was whisked off by an entourage before the Caller could also interview Jackson. Police and their supporters who spoke with the Caller said the reaction to the Smollett case was the result of pent-up frustration over numerous issues. “The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has been smoldering for a while, and this is the case that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Enough’s enough,” said Tony, a CPD officer. SJW’s Protest the Police Meanwhile, social justice groups led by the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) had a counter demonstration, arguing that police have blown this situation out of proportion in order to minimize that department’s own racism, corruption and incompetence. “Sixteen shots and a cover-up,” this side chanted repeatedly, referring to LaQuan McDonald being shot by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke sixteen times. That video was withheld for over a year, from Oct. 20, 2014, the date of the incident, to its release on Nov. 26, 2015, two days after Van Dyke was charged. (RELATED: Chris Rock Rejects ‘No Jussie Jokes’ At NAACP Awards Show, Says Actor Will Get ‘No Respect From Me’) Frank Chapman, the co-chairperson of CAARPR, said, “Here we have the Fraternal Order of Police, the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department Eddie Johnson, the Mayor—the same mayor who sat on the video tape of LaQuan MacDonald being murdered for 40 days—we have him, and then we have Donald Trump. So, now, that is the most racist alliance I have ever seen.” He added, “These people are getting together to beat up our movement by using the Jussie Smollett case. We’re not going have it; we’re not going to have it. We’re not going to stand for it.” “What is the FOP talking about? Have they come out against police torture? Did they ever come out against John Burge, who not only tortured people, but lied about it?” Chapman told a reporter. John Burge is a former Chicago police commander who was the head of a torture ring from 1972-1991, which extracted false confessions from African-American suspects in hundreds of cases using torture. While never convicted for the torture himself, he was convicted for lying about it in a civil case and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in a federal prison. Chapman, speaking with the Caller, said that more than 100 cases currently being reviewed by the Torture Inquiry Relief Commission (TIRC), involve people still in jail as a result of Burge. The TIRC was created in 2011 by the Illinois legislature to review cases where convictions might have occurred because of police torture. He said he believed the total number may be as high as 500. Superintendent Johnson and the Code of Silence Meanwhile, CPD Superintendent Johnson may have said something more significant to Fran Spielman, in an interview for the Chicago Sun-Times released on March 29, 2019. When asked about a code of silence in CPD, he made this noteworthy admission. “Do I think there might be officers that look the other way? Yeah, I do. … There are a lot of reasons why cops might not report misconduct. If they see their partner engage in misconduct, they may look the other way,” he said. Kevin Graham is president of the Chicago FOP Lodge Seven. He held a press conference and when asked by the Caller about Johnson’s admission, he defended his members. “He’s the superintendent. If he knows something, he can take action. I’m not aware of that, so I can’t comment on it,” Graham responded. When pressed, he stated, “I can’t tell you what 18,000 of my members are doing every day. I can tell you that I don’t know of any kind of a cover-up or any kind of code of silence.” The Smollett Case and the Chicago Mayoral Race Graham then took a shot Chicago mayoral candidate, Lori Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor. “Tell it to the federal prosecutor. Which is what I told Lori Lightfoot, she wrote it. I said if you do something, you should have done something about it,” Graham said. Police corruption is usually investigated and prosecuted federally. The Smollett case has cast a big shadow on the Chicago mayoral race, which has its runoff on April 2. Toni Preckwinkle is the current Cook County Board President and she is up against Lightfoot, in the first match-up of two African-American females in Chicago history. Preckwinkle has recently gotten hammered for her association with Foxx, who served as her chief of staff during Preckwinkle’s board presidency. “Lori Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, said the public deserved more answers from Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office about its decision to drop all criminal charges against Smollett. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle offered no personal opinion about the latest development in a polarizing case that has drawn national attention and instead deferred to the prosecutor’s office for further explanation,” a recent Chicago Tribune story noted. Kass was more colorful, noting in his column of Preckwinkle’s relationship with Foxx, “But I can imagine Toni Preckwinkle with a bemused smile on her face, saying, ‘I could have been mayor.’” There were even a handful of people with red MAGA hats on. One woman said she did not fear wearing it in Chicago. “I’m on the right side of history,” she proclaimed.<doc-sep>Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Dueling protests broke out Monday in Chicago over the Jussie Smollett case — with hundreds of demonstrators, including angry cops and community activists, descending on the offices of State’s Attorney Kim Foxx following last week’s decision to drop the actor’s charges. “Foxx must go!” shouted members of the city’s Fraternal Order of Police, which was in attendance. “Racists must go!” the activists fired back, according to reports. A number of community groups, including the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, rallied outside Foxx’s downtown office on Monday after FOP members announced they would be protesting. The activists were largely outnumbered, with countless cops and retired officers showing up with signs to voice their outrage over the handling of the Smollett case. “Make Crook County Great Again — Put Kim Foxx in jail,” read one sign, which was held up by retired CPD officer Patrick Learnahan. “If police don’t do their jobs they fire them, but [Foxx] didn’t do her job and nothing happens to her,” Learnahan told the Chicago Sun-Times. FOP members have called for a federal investigation into Foxx and her decision to drop the “Empire” actor’s charges — arguing that she may have broken the law when she tried to take the case away from Chicago police. “Somebody needs to tell Kim Foxx she’s the prosecutor, not the public defender,” said Peter Garza, a retired CPD detective. “You can’t have a prosecutor who has this mindset of a public defender.” Foxx supporters accused the FOP of using the Smollett situation to launch a smear campaign against her. “The attack on Kim Foxx isn’t about Jussie,” said Rev. Michael Pfleger, the pastor of St. Sabina Church. “It’s an excuse to remove a strong black woman.” Nubia Ptah, who was also on “Team Foxx,” agreed — saying the FOP’s efforts were “an atrocity.” “It’s insidious that they would say she has to go,” Ptah told the Sun-Times. “Kim Foxx is going nowhere but to work tomorrow. This is pretend outrage and manufactured anger.” Many of the activists brought up the 2014 LaQuan McDonald shooting, which involved a cop — who was later convicted of murder — killing a 17-year-old. “Sixteen shots and a cover-up,” the demonstrators chanted. “This is phony justice,” seethed CAARPR co-chairman Frank Chapman in response to the FOP outrage. “Not one person from the FOP or anyone of their ilk called a demonstration in defense of or promoting justice for Laquan McDonald,” he told the Chicago Tribune. Smollett, 36, was indicted earlier this month on felony disorderly conduct charges for allegedly staging a hate crime against himself and filing a false police report. The charges were dropped last week by prosecutors in exchange for community service and the forfeiture of Smollett’s $10,000 bond. Foxx, just a month earlier, had recused herself from the case due to a conversation she had with one of Smollett’s relatives, who got her number from a Democratic fundraiser tied to former first lady Michelle Obama. She has denied being involved in the decision to drop Smollett’s charges. Police officials, meanwhile, have said repeatedly that Smollett is still guilty of staging a fake hate crime against himself. CPD Superintendent Eddie Johnson doubled down on the position in a statement over the weekend. “As the State’s Attorney said clearly, Mr. Smollett was not exonerated,” Johnson said. “I stand behind the professionalism of the detectives who worked on this case as well as the conclusions of the independent grand jury.” With Post wires<doc-sep>Protests erupted Monday in Chicago over the Jussie Smollett case, with rival groups squaring off outside the offices of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. One group, including members of the Fraternal Order of Police, called for Foxx’s ouster, according to ABC7 Chicago. The other side, including Rev. Jesse Jackson and local activists, said they stand behind the embattled prosecutor. Hundreds of people took part in the dueling protests, with Foxx critics repeatedly chanting “Foxx must go!” But Jackson called criticism of the state’s attorney “unreasonable, unjustified and politically motivated.” Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Church said the African-American Foxx is being targeted because of her race. Related Story Dick Wolf To Rule Over 3 Consecutive Nights Of Broadcast TV Amid Drama Franchise Resurgence “The attack on Kim Foxx is not about Jussie. Rather, it’s an excuse to try to remove a strong black woman who comes in the office of state’s attorney to reform it,” Pfleger said. Kim Foxx Shutterstock Foxx has faced criticism over the case since March 26, when her office dismissed 16 felony disorderly conduct charges against Smollett for allegedly lying to CPD about being assaulted. The actor and singer told officers he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in the early morning hours of Jan. 29. But Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has repeatedly alleged Smollett staged the entire thing to get a salary increase on Empire. Last week following the announcement that the charges had been dropped and the case sealed, Smollett told reporters “I’ve been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one.” Johnson and Mayor Rahm Emanuel disagreed and held a news conference of their own, blasting the actor and prosecutors. “This is a whitewash of justice,” an indignant Emanuel said. Smollett forfeited his $10,000 bond in the case, but Emanuel insisted that amount “doesn’t even come close to what the city spent in resources” on the case. On March 28, city officials sent a letter to Smollett demanding “immediate payment” of the $130,106.15 they claim he owes to cover the cost of the investigation. Empire producers have stood by Smollett during the controversy, saying in a statement last week: “We are gratified that all charges against him have been dismissed.” You can watch video of Monday’s protests below.<doc-sep>
Dueling demonstrations erupted in Chicago on Monday over the handling of "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett's "hoax" attack case with a group led by the city police union demanding the resignation of the Cook County state's attorney and another group led by civil rights leader Jesse Jackson supporting the embattled prosecutor. The demonstrations came a week after the office of Cook County State's Attorney Kimberly Foxx agreed to drop all 16 felony disorderly conduct charges against Smollett, stemming from what police officials described as a false report made by the 36-year-old actor who claimed to be the victim of a homophobic and racist attack in January on a street in Chicago. "Foxx must go! Foxx must go!" chanted participants of a demonstration outside Foxx's office. In a counter-demonstration just feet away that included members of the Black Lives Matter movement, participants expressed support for Foxx, the first African-American woman to serve as Cook County state's attorney. Kevin Graham, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, noted that on Thursday the City of Chicago sent Smollett a bill for $130,106.15 to cover the overtime the Chicago Police Department expended to probe the attack investigators concluded was phony and intended to garner the actor publicity and eventually a pay raise. "We expended a lot of manpower and we've done a lot of work to make sure that this case was brought to trial, and it wasn't. That's a lot of money to just throw away," Graham said at the demonstration. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson have blasted the decision to dismiss the charges and ridiculed Smollett and his attorneys for, as they saw it, mischaracterizing the case as an exoneration. Neither Emanuel nor Johnson attended Monday's demonstration. Earlier Monday, Jackson and members of his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, rallied in support of Foxx at a Chicago church. Jackson said he stands by Foxx and her office's decision to dismiss the charges, calling the attacks against the prosecutor "unreasonable, unjustified and politically motivated." Joining Jackson was the Rev. Michael Pfleger, senior pastor of The Faith Community of Saint Sabina Roman Catholic Church in Chicago. "The attack on Kim Foxx is not about Jussie," Pfleger said. "Rather, it's an excuse to try to remove a strong black woman who comes in the office of state's attorney to reform it." The final decision to dismiss charges against Smollett fell on Cook County First Assistant State's Attorney Joe Magats after Foxx recused herself from the case. Foxx said she recused herself about a week before Smollett was formally charged after consulting her office's chief ethics officer about a phone call she received from Tina Tchen, the one-time chief of staff for former first lady Michelle Obama, asking on behalf of Smollett's family about the status of the case. She said she later spoke to a relative of Smollett's whom she would not identify. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of the criminal charges against Smollett, two law enforcement sources briefed on the matter told ABC News. The sources insisted it is not an investigation, but a "review." Smollett told police that on Jan. 29, he was walking on a street near his apartment around 2 a.m. when he was set upon by two men. The attackers allegedly shouted racist and homophobic slurs and the words "MAGA country" before hitting him, pouring “an unknown chemical substance” on him -- possibly bleach -- and wrapping a rope around his neck, he told detectives. Magats and Foxx say the actor did not receive any special treatment. They said Smollett, who had no previous criminal record, was allowed to dispose of his case through an alternative prosecution program, just like 5,700 other people their office has charged with low-level felonies over the past two years. "I believe, based on the facts and the evidence presented in the charging decision made by this office, this office believes that they could prove him guilty," Foxx told ABC News last week. "I think this office, based on the charging decision, believes he is culpable of doing that." Magats added, "This was not an exoneration. To say that he was exonerated by us or anyone is not true." Smollett could still face federal charges. The FBI and the U.S.