AP Photo/Matt Marton
Empire actor Jussie Smollett, center, arrives at the Leighton Criminal Court Building for his hearing on Thursday, March 14, 2019, in Chicago. Smollett is accused of lying to police about being the victim of a racist and homophobic attack by two men on Jan. 29 in downtown Chicago.
Days before voters are set to elect Chicago’s first black woman mayor, the two candidates sparred over how best to tackle the city’s faltering finances, pervasive violence and distrust of local police.
But they had to compete with the Jussie Smollett case for attention.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot in a televised debate before the Tuesday vote both called on prosecutors at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to better explain a controversial decision to dismiss charges against Mr. Smollett, the “Empire” actor accused of faking a hate crime against himself.
“The concern is the optics,” Ms. Lightfoot said. “The optics look like if you are rich and famous, you’ve got one kind of justice and if you’re everybody else, it’s something entirely different.”
Ms. Preckwinkle called for a Cook County judge to release the court record, which was sealed earlier this week.
An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com
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