2 best employees leaving Kim Foxx's office

CHICAGO – WGN Investigates has learned that Cook County lawyer Kim Foxx was losing two of the best MPs.

A spokesman confirmed that April Perry, chief ethics officer, and Mark Rotert, head of the on-conviction integrity unit, were leaving the office.

Perry also served as Foxx's sous-chef.

Departures come at a difficult time for Foxx, who has been criticized for handling the Jussie Smollett case by his office. The actor of the Empire claimed to have been a victim of a hate crime. Police and prosecutors said it was a hoax. A grand jury accused Smollett of 16 counts of disorderly behavior. But, surprise, the Foxx office has dropped the charges against him^th without obliging Smollett to admit his guilt.

As the WGN Investigation report announced for the first time on April 16, text messages exchanged between Foxx and its key collaborators revealed that the state prosecutor continued to talk to his associates about the Smollett affair much later. that she had publicly declared that she had recused herself.

Another prominent assistant sent an email the day after the announcement of the challenge, saying that it was inappropriate.

"The state attorney has full discretion to recuse herself, but she can not just order someone (even the first assistant) to act in her place," said Alan Spellberg, the supervisor of criminal appeals.

Ethics Officer Perry has been copied to this email. It is unclear if she has taken action.

A statement from Foxx said:

I am deeply grateful for Mark's work to make the Cook County Conviction Integrity Unit a national model. Under his mandate, we canceled the convictions of more than 70 men and women wrongfully convicted. We have established national standards and protocols for reviewing past convictions. The people of Cook County were well served by his leadership and he deserved his retirement.

I am also grateful for April Perry's mandate as the first ever Chief Ethics Officer for the Cook County Attorney's Office. She has been a valuable resource for the office in ensuring that we operate with the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. I wish him good luck in his new projects.