Top Kim Foxx aide resigns amid investigation

FOX 32 NEWS - Fox 32 News has learned that State's Attorney Kim Foxx has accepted the resignation of one of her top aides, after an internal review revealed he was steering significant amounts of legal work to his former law firm at unusually high rates.

The resignation of the acting Civil Actions Bureau Chief, Chaka Patterson, comes after Fox 32 News first made inquiries about the State's Attorney's use of outside counsel six weeks ago. State's Attorney Foxx’s office provided us with a statement saying that her own review of outside counsel practices revealed that Patterson was referring significant business to his former law firm, Jones Day. Documents provided to Fox 32 News show Jones Day attorneys were sometimes being paid up to $500 an hour, rather than the customary rates of about a $185 an hour for outside legal services.

The state's attorney says an outside law firm has agreed to do a review of Foxx's use of outside counsel--at no cost to the county. And in the meantime, any outside counsel who are selected will only be chosen with the approval of the judge who's handling the case.