By The FirstChicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is pleased with the verdict of the Jussie Smollett case —a case that wasted thousands of dollars of taxpayer money and valuable police resources that could have been preventing murders in one of the nation’s most violent cities.
“The criminal conviction of Jussie Smollett by a jury of his peers and today’s sentencing should send a clear message to everyone in the City of Chicago that false claims and allegations will not be tolerated,” Lightfoot said in a statement. “The malicious and wholly fabricated claim made by Mr. Smollett resulted in over 1500 hours of police work that cost the City over $130,000 in police overtime,” she went on. “The City feels vindicated in today’s ruling that he is being held accountable and that we will appropriately receive restitution for his actions.”
Smollett was sentenced to 30 months of probation, including five months in jail, and ordered to pay Chicago $120,000 in restitution and a $25,000 fine.
