After Jussie Smollett case, Cook County police chiefs announce they have no confidence in State's Attorney Kim Foxx
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Chicago police union and dozens of Cook County police chiefs banded together Thursday to announce a "no confidence" vote in State's Attorney Kim Foxx. The press conference came after her office's controversial decision to drop charges against Jussie Smollett over his alleged staged attack.
They gathered at the FOP headquarters over what they claim is Foxx's mishandling of certain felony cases.
"We cannot stand for this any longer Kim Foxx needs to resign and she should do it quickly," said Kevin Graham, FOP President.
"She's putting criminals back on the street either during the process, not charging then at all or allowing them on the street to commit again," said Steven Stelter, West Suburban Chiefs of Police Association. "Many times the hoops we have to go through to get a felony charge and most of the time they are not approved or charges dismissed in court without an officer's opinion."
The police chiefs claim the safety of citizens and officers are at risk because of Foxx's decisions to allegedly under prosecute, especially when it comes to felony retail theft cases and battery to police officers.
Foxx's office fired back Wednesday night after sources tipped the I-Team of the measure.
"Unfortunately, this is an excuse to justify their resistance to our prioritizing resources to increase public safety and reduce harm," said a spokesperson for Foxx. "Our assistant state's attorneys work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to address violence in our communities" she told the I-Team on Wednesday night.
RELATED: I-TEAM: SUBURBAN POLICE CHIEFS TAKE NO CONFIDENCE STANCE AGAINST STATE'S ATTORNEY KIM FOXX
The I-Team has obtained a "no confidence letter" sent to Foxx from the North Suburban Chiefs of Police, ripping her for the Smollett decision and expressing the deep concerns they have regarding her leadership of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, specifically in the areas of felony review, non-prosecution of certain low-level offenses, and the handling of the recent Jussie Smollett matter.
The north suburban chief's letter states what all three organizations say they have decided: that it appears Foxx's strategy to address non-violent crime in Cook County is to decriminalize or ignore it, regardless of any collateral cost which is born overwhelmingly by individual communities and their police agencies.
The president of the south suburban police chief's association told the I-Team that their no confidence vote is not meant to display disrespect towards the hard working assistant state's attorneys who actually prosecute cases in courtrooms. He said the "no confidence vote" is directed straight at Kim Foxx's lack of leadership and loss of credibility within their communities.
While the FOP and Suburban chiefs claim to be united in their call for Foxx to resign, there was not one African-American police chief present. Now, one south suburban police chief disagrees with the move, and this opposition goes beyond just the Smollett case.
South Suburban Harvey Police Chief Gregory Thomas said while he respects his colleagues, he believes it's premature to call for Foxx to resign. Thomas said previous state's attorneys have undercharged cases as well.
"Under the previous administrations I've had cases fall under the category of deferred prosecution, I had no control over them," Thomas said.
