Macon Reporter

State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) said he would support legislation increasing the penalties for faking a crime.

“We don’t need to expend taxpayer money investigating crimes that never happened,” Halbrook told the Macon Reporter.

A Chicago jury recently found the former “Empire” star guilty on five counts of lying to police about  a staged hate crime. The jury returned its verdict on the nearly three-year-old case after deliberating for nine hours over two days.

Smollett, who is Black and gay, told police his attackers placed a noose around his neck and yelled racist and homophobic slurs at him.

Throughout the trial, brothers Abimbol and Olabinjo Osundairo testified that Smollett recruited them to stage the attack near his downtown Chicago home as part of a plot to draw more attention to himself.

Halbrook faulted Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for supporting Smollett’s claims before all the facts of the case had been brought to light.

“I think they should do the honorable thing and walk their comments back and admit they fell for a hoax, but I also understand we are not dealing with honorable people here,” he said. “The truth does not matter to them. All that matters to them is perpetuating the narrative that their political opponents are racists. I think what they are doing is wrong but unfortunately, there is not really anything that can be done about it except to ensure these people do not have access to real power ever again.”

The drama comes at a time when 2021 has entered the books as one of the most violent years in city history, raising questions if lawmakers like Lightfoot are doing enough to help keep communities as safe as they can be.

By early December, more than 1,000 homicides were documented by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. Of those homicides, 927 were committed during gun-related crimes.

And much of the violence hasn’t been restricted to the city’s inner-city neighborhoods. A 12-year-old girl was recently shot near North Michigan Avenue as large groups of teens gathered in the area.

At last count, 21 minors were arrested in the incident in which two Chicago police officers were injured and two replica firearms recovered.

“Whatever they are doing is not working,” Halbrook said. “Car jackings, looting at retail stores and murders are on the rise in Chicago. Instead of helping to solve the problems, our leaders are only making it worse by ending cash bail, defunding the police and limiting the ability of police officers to do their job. The only way we are going to change this is by voting out the career politicians whose policies are destroying our state.”