CHICAGO — The City of Chicago will be filing a civil lawsuit against Jussie Smollett after he refused to reimburse the city for investigative costs into what authorities said was a staged racist, anti-gay attack.
The following statement was issued by Bill McCaffrey, City of Chicago Department of Law:
Thursday was the deadline for Smollett to issue payment, seven days since Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s law chief sent the “Empire” actor a letter demanding the payment.
The March 28 letter said he must pay within seven days but didn’t specify a response if he didn’t.
Nonpayment will likely prompt the city to sue Smollett, prompting a civil trial where standards for proving he staged the incident will be lower than in criminal court.
Chicago sent the letter after state prosecutors dropped criminal charges accusing Smollett of orchestrating the attack.
Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot could reverse any legal action after she’s sworn in May 20.