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More than six years after actor Jussie Smollett made a fake report surrounding an alleged racist and homophobic attack in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood, his civil case against the city has finally reached a conclusion. But that conclusion won’t leave either side of the public feeling satisfied, as exact details were not made public.
Smollett was convicted of falsely reporting a hate crime, as well as four additional charges in December 2021. He was then sentenced 150 days in jail and 30 months’ probation the following year. However, the Illinois Supreme Court later overturned that conviction over prosecutorial issues. The Illinois state Supreme Court found that Smollett should not have been charged due to a nonprosecution agreement with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Smollett served six of the original 150-day sentence before being released pending appeal.
Jussie Smollett And City Of Chicago Reach Settlement In Civil Trial
That left both sides in a bind of sorts. The city of Chicago sued Smollett in April 2019, three months after the alleged attack. In the suit, the city accused him of submitting a false police report. It claimed that he knew his attackers and planned the attack, and sought $130,000 in expenses spent on the police investigation. But Smollett didn’t roll over. Instead, he filed a countersuit denying that he orchestrated the attack, and he denied making a false police report. As part of the countersuit, Smollett alleged that he was the victim of “mass public ridicule and harm”.
Now it appears neither side reached its desired outcome. Or, depending on how you look at it, both sides have. Earlier this week, the city and Smollett told the court they have settled “but need more time to finalize documentation.”
We will update this story should details of the settlement be made public at some point in the future.