Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0229
Illinois General Assembly

Previous General Assemblies

Full Text of HR0229  101st General Assembly

HR0229 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY


  

 


 
HR0229LRB101 11825 MST 58733 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Jussie Smollett, a professional actor and
3celebrity, reported to law enforcement on January 29, 2019 that
4he had, earlier on that day, been assaulted on a Chicago street
5by two men; in the alleged incident, Smollett told law
6enforcement that he had been subjected to assault, battery, and
7acts that could be characterized as life-threatening,
8accompanied by racial, homophobic, and political slurs; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Jussie Smollett's report of the alleged January 29
10crime against him created a sensational media story, with
11Smollett frequently repeating his story for the press,
12especially 24-hour cable news; the repeated story was
13accompanied by repeated commentary, delivered by alleged
14experts, on the dangers of the streets of Chicago and the
15purported significance of the alleged incident to the overall
16climate of racial relations in the United States; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Questions began to be raised about Jussie
18Smollett's story and the veracity of the alleged incident; and
 
19    WHEREAS, On February 19, 2019, Cook County State's Attorney
20Kim Foxx announced that she had recused herself from the
21investigation, due to what she described as her familiarity
22with potential witnesses in the case; and
 

 

 

HR0229- 2 -LRB101 11825 MST 58733 r

1    WHEREAS, On February 20, 2019 Jussie Smollett was charged
2with a Class 4 felony for filing a false police report; the
3actor was booked and taken into custody on the same day, and
4the Chicago Police Department released extensive information
5on what they described as a hoax crime, an incident where a
6purported victim falsely claims to have been victimized in
7order to grasp fame, grab attention, make political points, or
8some combination of all of the above; and
 
9    WHEREAS, On February 21, 2019, Jussie Smollett was released
10from custody, it being described that a friend of the actor had
11posted $10,000 bond to gain his release; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Heavy press coverage of the alleged incident
13continued, with severe criticisms being leveled against Jussie
14Smollett and Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx; and
 
15    WHEREAS, On March 8, 2019, Jussie Smollett was indicted on
1616 separate felony counts of "false report of offense" arising
17from the incident, the separate counts being related to
18separate elements of the statements Smollett had made to law
19enforcement; and
 
20    WHEREAS, In the days following this indictment, widespread
21reports were spread by cable news to the effect that Jussie

 

 

HR0229- 3 -LRB101 11825 MST 58733 r

1Smollett and his attorneys were trying to wield political clout
2to get the charges against him negotiated, pled down, or
3dropped; and
 
4    WHEREAS, On March 26, 2018, a dramatic announcement altered
5the terrain of the Jussie Smollett case; it was announced that
6Smollett would perform unspecified community service and
7forfeit the bond allegedly posted by his friend on February 21,
8and in return, all felony charges would be dropped and the
9court file of the incident would be sealed; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The announcement of this court proceeding and
11sealing was publicly criticized by Eddie Johnson, the
12superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, who stated
13that 'justice was not served'; and
 
14    WHEREAS, This announcement left unanswered questions as to
15the roles of actor Jussie Smollett, Cook County State's
16Attorney Kim Foxx, First Assistant Cook County State's Attorney
17Joseph Magats (the prosecutor of record subsequent to State's
18Attorney Foxx's recusal), and other political figures who may
19have been involved in the case; therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
21HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
22we request that the Attorney General of Illinois conduct a

 

 

HR0229- 4 -LRB101 11825 MST 58733 r

1full, prompt, and comprehensive examination of the Jussie
2Smollett case and the decision by the Office of the Cook County
3State's Attorney not to pursue charges against Jussie Smollett;
4and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That the results of this examination be fully
6reported as a public document, so as to answer the unanswered
7questions surrounding the Jussie Smollett incident; and be it
8further
 
9    RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be delivered to
10Kwame Raoul, the Attorney General of the State of Illinois.