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Kim Foxx says she is not going anywhere.
Cook County’s top prosecutor said on Saturday that, even though she is still being attacked by Chicago police and other Illinois law enforcement following her office’s decision to dismiss all charges against Jussie Smollett, she will not resign.
Foxx, who made these comments during a press conference on Saturday, said she was “undaunted” by criticism and would not give in to the anger and hatred she has been subjected to since Smollett’s release. Smollett, an actor on the hit Fox show “Empire,” was indicted on 16 felony charges of faking an attack against him that he said was racist and homophobic in nature.
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“I cannot run an office that is driven by anger and public sentiment,” Foxx said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “I must run an office that looks at the facts, the evidence, and the law on every case. That is my responsibility.”
Foxx actually recused herself from the Smollett case following a conversation she had with one of Smollett’s relatives, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. At first, Foxx appeared certain that her office had enough evidence to convict Smollett, but later she told the Sun-Times that a conviction was “uncertain.”
Foxx said she strives to always work in tandem with other law enforcement agencies and that she keeps their interactions professional, even when they disagree. This week, however, Foxx said she has seen another side of local law enforcement and wonders why things have changed so drastically.
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“I think we have to ask ourselves, what is this really about?” Foxx said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “As someone who has lived in this city — who came up from the projects of this city to serve as the first African-American woman in this role — it is disheartening to me, and to the women and men who I represent … that when we get in these positions, goal posts change.
“I stand with our partners in law enforcement every day. I will never speak ill about our partners in this work,” Foxx added to the Sun-Times. “And even though there are challenges between any relationship, you have never seen the Cook County state’s attorney stand at any podium, stand in any room, and disrespect or disregard any of those partners.”
Last week, Kevin Graham, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, and 40 suburban police chiefs called on Foxx to resign, after receiving a unanimous vote of “no confidence” in her following the Smollett release.