Illinois Supreme Court to hear actor Jussie Smollett appeal of conviction for staging racist attack

By JOHN O’CONNOR
AP Political Reporter

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois Supreme Court will hear an appeal of actor Jussie Smollett’s disorderly conduct conviction for staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and lying to Chicago police. The court on Wednesday accepted the appeal. Smollett was a cast member on the television drama “Empire,” filmed in Chicago. There is no date set for the high court to review a state appellate court ruling, which upheld Smollett’s 2021 conviction by a Cook County jury. Smollett, who is Black and gay, claimed two men assaulted him, spouted slurs and tossed a noose around his neck. Smollett’s appeal objects to the intervention of a special prosecutor after the state’s attorney initially dropped charges.