CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Chicago's corporation counsel has sent actor Jussie Smollett a letter of demand telling him to pay the city government more than $130,000 to reimburse police for their investigation of Smollett's claims he was the victim of a racist, homophobic physical attack earlier this year.
"The City of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department take seriously those who make false statements to the police, thereby diverting resources from other investigations and undermining the criminal justice system," Corporation Counsel Edward N. Siskel said in the letter.
The city "requires immediate payment of the $130,106.15 expended on overtime hours in the investigation of this matter," the communication said. Smollett was given seven days to pay, or he may find himself in city court, the letter said.
The letter, sent Thursday, follows Mayor Emanuel's latest tirade against Smollet, whose criminal case was abruptly dismissed by prosecutors earlier this week.
“I want accountability,” Emanuel said Thursday morning as the city was tabulating the costs, “I want responsibility for a hoax that was committed, not just a financial one, but more importantly a moral and ethical one.”
When he writes a check to the city, Mayor Emanuel said, Jussie Smollett can write on the memo line, “I’m sorry and I’m accountable for what I’ve done.”
“He says he’s innocent. The State’s Attorney’s office says, ‘No, he’s responsible and accountable for a hoax,’ and I want the taxpayers and people of the city of Chicago beyond money, beyond the financial, the acknowledgement that what was done here was wrong on a moral, ethical and financial level.”
What angers him most, Emanuel said, is that Smollett alleged a hate crime for his own gain.
He also laid into President Trump, who weighed in via Twitter. Trump said he is urging the Justice Department to look into how the case was handled.
“My recommendation to the President, go to Opening Day baseball, sit on the sideline, stay out of this," Emanuel said.
Emanuel said the president created the environment that made Smollett believe he could get away with what Emanuel called a hoax.
Jussie Smollett's defense team released a statement following the mayor's latest venting session.
"It is the Mayor and the Police Chief who owe Jussie - owe him an apology - for dragging an innocent man’s character through the mud. Jussie has paid enough," the statement read.