750,000 Reasons Sun-Times’ Kim Foxx Endorsement Shouldn't Shock

CHICAGO — It seemed strange enough the Sun-Times editorial board on Monday “strongly” endorsed Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx for a second term, telling voters to spare her the “injustice” of letting a “single high-profile mistake ... overshadow her accomplishments.”

Foxx’s “single” flub, of course, was cutting a deal to drop felony charges against actor Jussie Smollett, who police say faked a hate crime last year, and misleading the public about recusing herself from the case, among other things.

By Tuesday afternoon, the paper’s early support of Foxx’s re-election bid grew even more shocking when word got out that special prosecutor Dan Webb obtained an indictment of Smollett on six new charges related to filing false reports that he was the victim of a homophobic hate crime, and said the investigation to determine whether "any person or office involved in the Smollett case engaged in wrongdoing" continues.

Until you follow the money, that is.

What the paper doesn’t tell readers is that members of the Sun-Times ownership team, who rightfully wield influence over editorial board decisions, also play a significant role in bankrolling Foxx’s campaign.

Online, the Sun-Times includes a footnote about its “civic-minded and, in some cases, politically active investors” that suggests to readers that if they want to learn more they can search campaign records themselves.

But there’s no mention of the $301,250 Sun-Times investor Michael Sacks has personally pumped into Foxx’s campaign since September.

The endorsement doesn’t include a disclaimer revealing the political action committees controlled by the Service Employees International Union (part of a collection of unions that own the paper) kicked in $425,000 to support Foxx’s campaign in the last four months, according to public records.

There wasn’t a single sentence about the $25,000 Sun-Times investor and politically connected real estate investor Elzie Higginbottom donated in October that the Friends of Foxx campaign didn’t report receiving until Jan. 15, according to state election board records.

Instead, the paper argues that Foxx's little known Gun Crimes Strategies Unit is proof, despite the Smollett fiasco, she's helping make Chicago safer while promoting a social-justice agenda.

“Chances are, you’ve never heard of the Gun Crimes Strategies Unit," the Sun-Times endorsement begins. "We think you should before you vote on March 17.”

The editorial board’s source for that assertion gets summed up in a hyperlink tucked in the online edition that directs readers to a state’s attorney’s office news release distributed on Nov. 26, a week after Foxx announced her re-election bid. The press release, much like the editorial, leads with the candidate's claim her strategy “is producing significant results.”

The endorsement cribs the most favorable statistics from Foxx’s press release, which mirrors her re-election campaign talking points. What didn’t seem to match up was the editorial board’s exaggerated assertion that the University of Chicago Crime Lab said the strategy itself is “working.”

Rather, Foxx’s press release quotes Roseanna Ander, who runs the crime lab, as saying the statistics were an “encouraging sign” that targeted collaboration between the state’s attorney’s office and Chicago police could help restore trust in neighborhoods plagued with shootings.

Foxx's own press release shows the crime lab’s analysis determined the gun crimes strategy unit didn’t have such stellar results in three police districts on the far South Side and the Grand Central district on the West Side.

The paper's endorsement gave Foxx too much credit for expunging pot convictions that state cannabis legalization mandated anyway, and overlooked the paper's own investigative report connecting Foxx to the Democratic Machine's corrupt status quo published under the headline "State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s deals benefit benefactor Ald. Edward M. Burke."

When the paper championed Lori Lightfoot's mayoral candidacy the editorial board chastised her challengers for being connected to the powerful ward boss indicted by the feds for allegedly shaking down a Burger King owner for a $10,000 contribution to Foxx's former boss, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

Why did Foxx get treated differently?

Seems like there might be 750,000 reasons tucked in the "Friends For Foxx" campaign war chest.

Mark Konkol, recipient of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting and Emmy-nominated producer, was a producer, writer and narrator for the "Chicagoland" docu-series on CNN. He was a consulting producer on the Showtime documentary, "16 Shots."

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