City of Chicago, Jussie Smollett reach settlement in civil lawsuit, according to federal court documents

The video in the player above is from WGN’s coverage from 2024 and “Reaction to Illinois Supreme Court Judge’s decision to dismiss Jussie Smollett’s conviction”

CHICAGO — A settlement has been reached between the City of Chicago and Jussie Smollett in the civil lawsuit filed by the city against the former “Empire” actor.

Smollett was convicted in 2021 on charges that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in Streeterville then lied to police about it in 2019. The conviction was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court in November.

The city filed a civil lawsuit against Smollett in April 2019, seeking to recoup about $130,000 — the amount of money spent on overtime for CPD investigators who looked into Smollett’s initial attack claim.

According to federal court documents, the parties contacted the courtroom deputy on Wednesday “to advise they have settled, but need more time to finalize documentation.”

A status hearing in U.S. District Court was initially set for Wednesday but has been reset to Thursday, May 29.

Background

In 2021, Smollett was convicted of falsely reporting a hate crime that he alleged had been committed against him almost three years earlier.

Smollett, who is Black and gay, told police in the early hours of Jan. 29, 2019, that he was the victim of a racist, homophobic attack near his Streeterville apartment. Smollett told police that he was targeted by two males who yelled slurs while one punched him in the face and another put bleach on him, before putting a rope around his neck on a freezing night.

But Smollett was later found guilty of five counts of disorderly conduct for setting up the attack. Testimony at his trial indicated he paid two brothers, whom he knew from the set of the TV show “Empire” that he starred in, $3,500 to carry out the “attack.”

Prior to Smollett’s conviction, however, then-Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx had initially dropped the 16 charges against him in April 2019. Foxx, who recused herself from the case after she communicated with a Smollett relative during the probe, then said she would welcome an independent investigation into the way she and her office handled the case.

That came in August 2019, when Cook County Judge Michael Toomin appointed former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb as special prosecutor.

Webb led the prosecution efforts the second time around, and a grand jury returned a six-count indictment against the actor on Feb. 11, 2020. Smollett was found guilty of five of six disorderly conduct charges on Dec. 9, 2021.

He was sentenced to 150 days in jail and 30 months of probation and ordered to pay more than $130,000 in restitution.

However, in a last-ditch appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court in September 2024, Smollett had his conviction reversed. The Illinois Supreme Court made that ruling in November, citing Smollett’s second prosecution after his charges were initially dropped as the main reason why his conviction was overturned.

Smollett had served six days of his sentence.