A judge on Friday appointed former U.S. Attorney Dan K. Webb as the special prosecutor to lead the investigation into a hate crime hoax allegedly plotted by Jussie Smollett and how Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx handled the criminal charges against the now former “Empire” actor.
One of the most high-profile lawyers in Chicago, Webb was the top federal prosecutor in Chicago from 1981 to 1985. He has won the convictions of corrupt Cook County judges and a former national security adviser. It’s the second time Judge Michael Toomin has appointed Webb as a special prosecutor in a case.
In April 2012, the judge appointed him to re-examine the 2004 death of David Koschman, who died after being punched by Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko, a nephew of then-Mayor Richard M. Daley. In that case, Vanecko was sentenced to 60 days in jail and 60 days of home confinement. Webb also has represented high-profile defendants in criminal cases, including Republican Gov. George Ryan and Springfield power broker William Cellini.
Toomin’s appointment comes two months after the judge ordered an independent probe .
Webb said he didn’t know how long it would take him to investigate the case but said he would do it expeditiously while working to be fair to all parties.
“I understand this case is important. Judge Toomin has made that clear to me,” Webb said, vowing that politics would play no role in the investigation.
“I intend to expedite everything, but the facts will take me where they take me,” Webb said. “I’m going to start fresh and see where it goes.”
Webb’s investigation could pose political problems for Foxx, depending on what the special prosecutor finds and when those findings are released. The Cook County Democratic Party endorsed Foxx last week for reelection, but she is already facing one primary opponent, former Cook County prosecutor Bill Conway. Former Cook County Judge Pat O’Brien, once a high-ranking prosecutor, has said he will run against Foxx as a Republican in the general election.
In a statement reacting to the appointment of Webb, Foxx said: “While the court previously concluded that our office had no conflict of interest in this case, public trust is paramount to our work. We pledge our full cooperation to the special prosecutor appointed today to review this matter.”
Webb said his powerhouse law firm, Winston & Strawn, would not charge the county fees for work on the case, only out-of-pocket expenses, likely saving taxpayers from a six- or seven-figure bill. Taxpayers shelled out $1.3 million for Webb’s work on the Koschman investigation.
Webb’s investigation will be the latest twist in a saga that has attracted national attention since the January night when Smollett’s roommate called police to report the actor had been attacked near his Streeterville apartment. The African American, openly gay actor told police he was accosted by two men, who taunted him with racist and homophobic slurs as they hit him, poured bleach on him and slipped a noose around his neck.
After a monthlong investigation, police announced Smollett had paid two acquaintances to fake the attack. A grand jury would indict the actor on 16 low-level felony charges for making false statements to police. Three weeks later, prosecutors dropped all charges, with Smollett making no admission of guilt but agreeing to hand over the $10,000 he had posted as bond to the city. Police Supt. Eddie Johnson and then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel immediately slammed the decision, with Emanuel calling the deal a “whitewash of justice.”
Foxx had announced a week before Smollett was charged that she had recused herself from Smollett’s prosecution because she had spoken to a relative of the actor about the investigation. Text messages revealed the relative had contacted Foxx first through Tina Tchen, a Chicago attorney who once had served as chief of staff to first lady Michelle Obama.
Former state Appellate Court Justice Sheila O’Brien petitioned the court to appoint a special prosecutor, citing the unorthodox handling of the case and Foxx’s decision to recuse herself. Toomin in June ruled Foxx had no actual conflict of interest, her statement that she had recused herself meant that the entire office had to be replaced by a special prosecutor. Because Foxx had instead delegated decision-making in the case to her top deputy, Toomin said Smollett’s entire prosecution — and the decision to drop the charges — was voided.
State law required Toomin to first ask the state attorney general and the appellate prosecutor to act as special prosecutor, then solicit every elected state’s attorney across Illinois, before seeking a private attorney.
Toomin sent letters to prosecutors in late June. Toomin said he got denied by or ruled out 30 state’s attorneys in Illinois before reaching out to Webb.
State’s attorneys in some of the largest collar counties — Lake, DuPage and Kane — all have said they turned down the job.
“I might say that the responses were less than enthusiastic, as you might expect,” Toomin said.
