He has plumbed the secrets and techniques of the Iran-Contra affair and wondered sitting presidents under oath. He has led investigations that have dispatched police officers, judges, and town employees to jail in a sprawling corruption case. Now, legendary Chicago legal professional Dan Webb will again take up the position of the unique prosecutor, this time to examine whether a television actor clumsily staged a hate crime attack, then was given a sweetheart deal from prosecutors.
Cook County Judge Michael Toomin on Friday appointed Webb and his powerhouse law firm, Winston & Strawn, to probe State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s controversial handling of criminal costs in opposition to Jussie Smollett, responsibilities that might lead to new costs in opposition to the “Empire” actor and have a full-size effect on Foxx’s bid for a 2nd term.
Before a courtroom packed with journalists, Toomin rattled off the highlights of Webb’s curriculum vitae earlier than swearing within the 72-year-old. Toomin additionally referred to a weird bank robbery case in federal court in which the future decisions and future U.S. Attorney had first met. “The appointment of Dan Webb is tied to what I discovered in that encounter,” Toomin stated. “(Webb) is a person guided with the aid of a strong moral compass and integrity.”
Webb’s statue inside the Chicago legal community figured prominently as Toomin searched for a non-public attorney to take on a low-level criminal case that had drawn oversized attention throughout the USA in the seven months since Smollett first reported being attacked some blocks from his Streeterville home.
After a steeply-priced, month-long investigation, police decided the actor had employed acquaintances to level the assault; Smollett changed into charged with sixteen minor legal counts for allegedly making fake statements to police investigators.
