Foxx Under Fire From Suburban Law Enforcement Officials
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A lawsuit against Jussie Smollett is on the way.
Chicago's law department sent the actor a $130,000 bill which was due Thursday. It was for charging the actor for the overtime police spent investigating his claim that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack. Since he hasn't paid, the city plans to sue.
That case added pressure on beleaguered State's Attorney Kim Foxx.
CBS 2 political reporter Derrick Blakley reports, Chicago's police union and a host of suburban police chiefs are now calling on her to resign.
The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) said it's not just Kim Foxx dropping the charges against Jussie Smollett that's behind their call for resignation. Their disaffection began with lack of charges in attacks on police officers.
"We see people with a dislocated knee. We see people who have been bitten, almost had fingers bitten off. And we can't get felony charges on that. That's a problem," said FOP president Kevin Graham.
The overall feeling among these cops: Foxx is going light on charges.
"We want to see criminals prosecuted and we want to see people convicted," Graham said.
Particularly, the police cite three Foxx policies: Not prosecuting theft felonies under $1,000 in value, or most drivers with invalid licenses or most small marijuana cases.
"What she's doing is enabling the offenders," said Steven Stelter of the West Suburban Chiefs Association. "The bad guys are not being held accountable."
But Foxx defenders, like attorney Brendan Shiller allege her attackers are motivated primarily by race.
"She, for the first time in the history of this county, has exercised prosecutorial discretion in away that does not put black and brown men in prison every single day, and that's something the FOPs can't stand," said attorney Brendan Shiller.
And notably, not a single African American police chief stood among the many from suburban towns urging Foxx to go.
"I don't know why other chiefs aren't here. I can't answer that," Graham said.
Harvey Police Chief Gregory Thomas who is African American and was not at the news conference, said it was premature to ask Foxx to resign. She said she welcomes a federal review of the Smollett case.
It's something the FOP is also demanding. Foxx indicated she has no intention of stepping down.
