Free Republic

Ousted Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said Tuesday that he didn’t “intentionally mislead or deceive” anyone about the mid-October night he was found sleeping behind the wheel of his SUV. Johnson, 59, released a statement through his attorney a day after Mayor Lori Lightfoot fired him for “ethical lapses,” just weeks before he was set to retire. She said an inspector general’s report, which hasn’t been released publicly, revealed he misled her and the public about the circumstances of that evening and showed “flawed decision-making.” Two Chicago newspapers published reports Monday night that seem to contradict Johnson’s public account in...

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot fired the city’s retiring police superintendent Monday, citing “ethical lapses” that included telling lies about a recent incident in which Eddie Johnson was found asleep at the wheel of his car after having drinks. Named to the job in the wake of a police shooting that killed a black teenager, Johnson was dismissed after the mayor reviewed an inspector general’s report and video evidence related to the night in mid-October when officers discovered him unconscious in his SUV. He initially blamed his failure to take his blood pressure medication and said he had a few drinks...

Chicago residents awoke on November 18 to the familiar noise 27 people were shot, one fatally, over the weekend, the revelation Chicago experienced a 28-hour period between November 17–19 without a shooting briefly induced high spirits among the general public. However, it did not take long for grim headlines to return; this time, the bearer of the unwelcome news was Kim Foxx, who took to Twitter November 19 to announce her bid to extend her nightmarish term as Cook County State’s Attorney beyond 2020. Foxx carries on by groaning over the burdens of the job, bellyaches at her critics, and...

President Donald Trump has achieved more concrete progress for blacks, gays, and Jews than any other American president.That claim is sure to be disputed, if not mocked, by those for whom grievance and identity politics are a profession or a psychological crutch.Yet it remains true — and was thrown into sharp relief this week, as the Jussie Smollett case turned from one of the most horrific attacks in recent memory to the worst hate crime hoax in history.There are two reasons the media, Hollywood, and the Democratic political elite believed Smollett’s claims.First, he belongs to several victim categories: black, gay,...

At the start of this year, Kamala Harris’ supporters believed they would be popping champagne in 2020. Now the only question facing Harris is when to put a cork in her campaign. Should Harris drop out of the 2020 presidential race? Yes. At 55, she’s young. She can run again, but humiliating wipeouts in primary states will damage her permanently.

Have you ever heard about Tina Tchen? Most of you probably haven't but if you had, a few of you might know that she was the former chief of staff for Michelle Obama. However most of the people who are familiar with her name would have known it because of her prominent role in the Jussie Smolett case this year. This was why it was extremely odd to watch the hosts of CBS's This Morning gush over Tchen on Monday without even the slightest mention of what she is best known for. It was the elephant in the room that...

Editor’s Note: A PR firm representing actor Jussie Smollett issued a press release stating that “every iota” of the actor’s story about being attacked by Trump supporters is true despite the city of Chicago insisting otherwise. Smollett alleged he was attacked this January by two assailants donning Make America Great Again caps that targeted him because he is gay and black. “This is MAGA country!” Smollett said the men said as they poured bleach on him and tied a rope around his neck. “Every iota of information … Smollett has stated has been fully corroborated,” the PR statement said in...

Actor and producer Isaiah Washington, who famously joined the anti-Democratic Party #WalkAway movement earlier this year, said Monday that closeted conservatives in Hollywood are “cowards” for not voicing their beliefs out of fear of being blacklisted. “I have a message for the Hollywood Actors DM’ing me and revealing that you’re Conservatives,” wrote Mr. Washington, best known for his roles in the CW’s “The 100” and ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy.” “Don’t DM me again, because you all are lame and I don’t respond well to hypocrites or cowards,” he wrote. “You’re no different than the bystander that is waiting on the blood...

Do you think Isaiah Washington was treated unfairly?

Troubled Grey's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington has been released from a rehabilitation facility after a week of counseling for his repeated use of a homophobic slur. The star, who plays Dr. Preston Burke on the hit series, is expected to return to the set today. Washington, who will continue to receive outpatient counseling, caused an altercation on the show's set in October when he used a homosexual slur to refer to cast member TR Knight. He stirred up the controversy once again during a Golden Globes press conference when he used the term again while talking about the incident.

SUMMARY: The network rebukes Isaiah Washington for anti-gay slurs against "Grey's Anatomy" co-star T.R. Knight; Washington finally apologizes. The heated controversy at ABC's top show, "Grey's Anatomy," boiled over Thursday as the network rebuked co-star Isaiah Washington for an anti-gay comment and Washington issued a lengthy apology.

A Chicago judge appointed a special prosecutor on Friday morning to lead the investigation into the handling of the Jussie Smollett case. Cook County Judge Michael Toomin appointed former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb to the position to investigate the way the case was handled — specifically, why the 16 criminal charges against Smollett were dropped and to potentially reinstate the charges or even add additional charges against Smollett. "Webb gained prominence for his lead role during the Operation Greylord investigations into judicial corruption in Cook County," Fox 32 reported. "He served as special counsel in the Iran-Contra affair and was...

Al Sharpton in reality is America's biggest racist

Are you still looking for the one searing illuminated truth from the Democratic presidential debates? That moment telling America what voting Democratic will really mean in 2020? I’ve got it. But it wasn’t Kamala Harris (rhetorically) whipping Joe Biden. That’s what Democrats would rather focus on, because it’s easier than the inadvertently revealed truth that could doom their political chances. It did offer great drama: a tired old white guy reduced to babbling and a younger, smarter black woman putting him in his place and finishing off his political career. He’s toast. Even if Biden squeezes into one of her...

CHICAGO — It’s known here as The Exodus. People are leaving Illinois in droves. Republicans blame the state’s high taxes and its unfunded pension liability, which tops $130 billion. Democrats believe it’s the state’s lack of investment in education and infrastructure. One thing is certain: Illinois’ population has declined by 157,000 residents over the past five years, making it one of only two states — West Virginia is the other — to lose people over the past decade. Illinois’ predicament is a perfect storm of declining manufacturing, stagnant immigration, declining birth rates, young people leaving for college and never coming...

News that Chicago police charged Jussie Smollett with staging a brutal attack on himself was covered on every network and in every major newspaper, but Google is hiding searches of it from its platform due to concerns of "potentially disparaging" the liberal actor. A review of Google's autocomplete function on searches of Smollett found no references to anything regarding the hate crime, even though the company's own data show it is the only reason his name was ever searched. The top suggested searches for Smollett included Empire (a show he no longer has a role in), Mighty Ducks (a nearly...

News that Chicago police charged Jussie Smollett with staging a brutal attack on himself was covered on every network and in every major newspaper, but Google is hiding searches of it from its platform due to concerns of "potentially disparaging" the liberal actor. A review of Google's autocomplete function on searches of Smollett found no references to anything regarding the hate crime, even though the company's own data show it is the only reason his name was ever searched. The top suggested searches for Smollett included Empire (a show he no longer has a role in), Mighty Ducks (a nearly...

A Chicago judge appointed a special prosecutor on Friday to investigate Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s handling of the investigation into Jussie Smollett’s alleged hoax hate crime. Judge Michael Toomin said that Foxx’s unorthodox decision to drop all charges against Smollett absent an admission of guilt was within her authority, but suggested that her decision to hand the case over to her top deputy was improper. The special prosecutor may end up bringing charges against Smollett in connection with the staged hate crime, Toomin said. Former state appellate judge Sheila O’Brien petitioned for the appointment of a special prosecutor...

In a surprise move, a Cook County judge ordered the appointment of a special prosecutor Friday to investigate the controversial decision to drop all charges against Jussie Smollett. Judge Michael Toomin ruled that State’s Attorney Kim Foxx had the right to withdraw from the prosecution but could not legally appoint her top deputy to handle the case in her place. The special prosecutor could end up charging Smollett, Toomin said, and if the investigation uncovers suspicion of wrongdoing by others, additional charges could be brought. Toomin made the decision even though the county’s inspector general’s office is already investigating the...

Thanks to almost $1 million contributed by George Soros, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti defeated the incumbent DA in Arlington and Steve Descano defeated the incumbent in Fairfax. Those two victories bring the total number of campaigns that Soros has tried to buy to at least 23. The $583,000 that Soros gave Tafti represented 78 percent of her total campaign budget. The $392,000 George sent Descano was marginally less at 71 percent of his budget. In those two true blue counties winning the Democrat primary means winning in November, too. So, what did Soros buy? Two more DAs who won’t be prosecuting “quality...