CHICAGO _ Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's chief spokeswoman has left her post amid the fallout over the office's abrupt dismissal of all charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett.
The sudden departure comes as a document dump earlier this week revealed that the office was largely caught flat-footed by the massive negative response to the stunning decision to let Smollett walk without taking any responsibility for orchestrating an allegedly staged attack on himself.
Office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton confirmed that Kiera Ellis, who held the title of director of external affairs, was no longer with the office. Simonton declined to elaborate, including on whether Ellis had been fired or when she left.
Ellis had been on the job and answering text messages from a Chicago Tribune reporter as recently as Thursday. But calls to her Friday have gone unanswered. She had just joined the office in October.
Ellis' departure comes as two other high-level Foxx deputies submitted their separate resignations, both effective May 3.
April Perry, a former federal prosecutor who was brought on as Foxx's chief ethics officer, is taking a job as general counsel for a tech startup, according to an internal email from Foxx obtained by the Tribune.
Mark Rotert, a longtime criminal defense lawyer who held federal and state posts before that, acknowledged in a telephone interview that he is stepping down after almost two years leading the office's Conviction Integrity Unit, which reviews alleged wrongful convictions.
As Foxx's chief spokeswoman, Ellis handled much of the public-relations response after the dismissal of all 16 felony charges against Smollett at an unannounced court hearing last month sparked widespread controversy and condemnation.
Texts released Tuesday night to the Tribune in response to a public-records request show that both prosecutors and the communications team, including Ellis, were caught by surprise to the highly negative reaction. The office scrambled to coordinate its messaging and futilely tried to tamp down the heated controversy.
"Just wish I could have anticipated the magnitude of this response and planned a bit better!" Assistant State's Attorney Risa Lanier, the lead prosecutor on the high-profile case, texted Magats hours after the charges were dropped.
"There's really no planning for this," Magats responded. "It's the right decision."
"I agree and absolutely stand by the decision made," Lanier replied.
In addition, it appeared the prosecutors' office notified Chicago police only moments before the charges were dropped as reporters were already gathering in the courtroom _ only after being tipped off by a publicist for Smollett's legal team.
"It appears as if Jussie's press person may have notified the press," Lanier texted three spokespeople on the morning the case was dismissed.
A short time later, a spokeswoman texted back to say she had notified a Police Department spokesman who would tell Superintendent Eddie Johnson.
About 10 minutes later, Foxx texted Magats: "Eddie just called. (He) needed to know how to answer questions from press."
Foxx said she told Johnson that Smollett's charges were dismissed since he completed community service and gave his bond money _ $10,000 _ to the city.
"He seemed satisfied with the explanation," Foxx told Magats.
However, Johnson and Mayor Rahm Emanuel held a news conference that morning slamming the decision _ "a whitewash of justice," the mayor said bluntly.
Foxx withdrew herself from the case in February after she had been in contact with one of Smollett's relatives early during the investigation. But Foxx's office has since said she removed herself from the case only informally, since an actual recusal would have required her entire office to step aside and request the appointment of a special prosecutor.
Smollett, who is black and openly gay, found himself in an international media firestorm after he reported being the victim of a Jan. 29 attack by two people who shouted slurs, hit him and wrapped a noose around his neck. Police initially treated the incident as a hate crime, but their focus turned to Smollett after two brothers alleged to have been his attackers told detectives that Smollett had paid them $3,500 to stage the attack, with a promise of an additional $500 later.
The move to drop charges has provoked fierce criticism. Emanuel's administration has sued to try to force Smollett to reimburse Chicago for the more than $130,000 in overtime police expenses spent investigating the alleged hoax even though the charges were dropped.
Foxx has faced pressure to explain in more detail why the prosecution of Smollett was so quickly abandoned. In an op-ed in the Tribune, she backed off her office's initial stance that the case was strong, writing that they were uncertain of a conviction, but she offered no specifics.
At her request, Cook County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard agreed last week to investigate the office's handling of the Smollett case.
On Friday, Foxx issued a statement saying she would not be commenting further on the Smollett case until after Blanchard completed his review.
