Full Text of HR0229 101st General Assembly
HR0229 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Jussie Smollett, a professional actor and | 3 | | celebrity, reported to law enforcement on
January 29, 2019 that | 4 | | he had, earlier on that day, been assaulted on a Chicago street | 5 | | by two men; in
the alleged incident, Smollett told law | 6 | | enforcement that he had been subjected to assault, battery, and
| 7 | | acts that could be characterized as life-threatening, | 8 | | accompanied by racial, homophobic, and political
slurs; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Jussie Smollett's report of the alleged January 29 | 10 | | crime against him created a sensational
media story, with | 11 | | Smollett frequently repeating his story for the press, | 12 | | especially 24-hour cable news;
the repeated story was | 13 | | accompanied by repeated commentary, delivered by alleged | 14 | | experts, on the
dangers of the streets of Chicago and the | 15 | | purported significance of the alleged incident to the overall
| 16 | | climate of racial relations in the United States; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Questions began to be raised about Jussie | 18 | | Smollett's story and the veracity of the alleged
incident; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, On February 19, 2019, Cook County State's Attorney | 20 | | Kim Foxx announced that she had
recused herself from the | 21 | | investigation, due to what she described as her familiarity | 22 | | with potential
witnesses in the case; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, On February 20, 2019 Jussie Smollett was charged | 2 | | with a Class 4 felony for filing a false
police report; the | 3 | | actor was booked and taken into custody on the same day, and | 4 | | the Chicago Police
Department released extensive information | 5 | | on what they described as a hoax crime, an incident
where a | 6 | | purported victim falsely claims to have been victimized in | 7 | | order to grasp fame, grab
attention, make political points, or | 8 | | some combination of all of the above; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, On February 21, 2019, Jussie Smollett was released | 10 | | from custody, it being described that a friend of the actor had | 11 | | posted $10,000 bond to gain his release; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Heavy press coverage of the alleged incident | 13 | | continued, with severe criticisms being
leveled against Jussie | 14 | | Smollett and Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, On March 8, 2019, Jussie Smollett was indicted on | 16 | | 16 separate felony counts of "false report
of offense" arising | 17 | | from the incident, the separate counts being related to | 18 | | separate elements of the
statements Smollett had made to law | 19 | | enforcement; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, In the days following this indictment, widespread | 21 | | reports were spread by cable news to
the effect that Jussie |
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| 1 | | Smollett and his attorneys were trying to wield political clout | 2 | | to get the charges against
him negotiated, pled down, or | 3 | | dropped; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, On March 26, 2018, a dramatic announcement altered | 5 | | the terrain of the Jussie Smollett case; it
was announced that | 6 | | Smollett would perform unspecified community service and | 7 | | forfeit the bond allegedly posted by his friend on February 21, | 8 | | and in return, all felony charges
would be dropped and the | 9 | | court file of the incident would be sealed; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The announcement of this court proceeding and | 11 | | sealing was publicly criticized by Eddie
Johnson, the | 12 | | superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, who stated | 13 | | that 'justice was not
served'; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, This announcement left unanswered questions as to | 15 | | the roles of actor Jussie Smollett,
Cook County State's | 16 | | Attorney Kim Foxx, First Assistant Cook County State's Attorney | 17 | | Joseph
Magats (the prosecutor of record subsequent to State's | 18 | | Attorney Foxx's recusal), and other political
figures who may | 19 | | have been involved in the case; therefore, be it
| 20 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 21 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 22 | | we request that the Attorney General of Illinois
conduct a |
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| 1 | | full, prompt, and comprehensive examination of the Jussie | 2 | | Smollett case and the decision
by the Office of the Cook County | 3 | | State's Attorney not to pursue charges against Jussie Smollett; | 4 | | and be it further | 5 | | RESOLVED, That the results of this examination be fully | 6 | | reported as a public document, so as to
answer the unanswered | 7 | | questions surrounding the Jussie Smollett incident; and be it | 8 | | further
| 9 | | RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be delivered to | 10 | | Kwame Raoul, the Attorney General of
the State of Illinois.
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