Chicago City Wire

The newly installed head of Kim Foxx’s post-conviction unit recently told a Cook County judge that a side business she fronts, in potential conflict with her new duties reviewing innocence claims by inmates, isn’t really a business at all.  Michelle Mbekeani, the head of Foxx’s Conviction Review Unit, told Judge Michael McHale that Periodsentence.com, on whose website she is listed as Founder/CEO, is a “school project” that  incurs “absolutely no revenue at all.”

Period connects inmates claiming innocence with defense attorneys.

Last May, however, a photo surfaced on X in which Mbekeani is seen accepting a check for $75,000. Posted by Chicago Booth School of Business Professor, George Wu, Mbekeani is holding the check made out to Period.   

“Super excited that one of our @chicagobooth Neubauer Civic Scholars Michelle Mbekeani is the winner of this Year’s @RustandyCenter Social New Venture Challenge!,” the May 23 X post reads. “Her org Period helps the incarcerated find a lawyer to help prove their innocence. http://Periodsentence.com.”

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office did not respond to a Chicago City Wire request for comment to explain the apparent discrepancy.

On January 11, Judge McHale skewered Mbekeani in an order banning her from his courtroom over her claims that Period was not a side business.

A “conflict of interest exists on the part of ASA (Assistant State’s Attorney) Mbekeani given her commitment and duty to represent the interests of victims of crime and their families while contemporaneously serving as the Registered Agent, Director, President and CEO of a corporation that works on behalf of defendants and defense attorneys on post-conviction cases,” the judge said.

The website for Periodsentence was blocked from public view after a Chicago City Wire story pointed out what one former assistant state’s attorney called a “sickening conflict of interest.”

In a statement sent to CWBChicago, an online publication that covers crime in the city, Foxx threw her support behind Mbekeani after the Judge McHale banned her from his courtroom. 

“Michelle Mbekeani’s leadership of the Conviction Review Unit is anchored in her unparalleled experience, deep knowledge, and fervent dedication to justice reform,” the statement said in part. “Her extensive legal advocacy and reform work make her ideally suited for this pivotal role. The concerns raised about a potential conflict of interest with her university-level practicum project are unfounded and detract from our critical mission.”

Yet in 2020 Foxx fired former prosecutor Nick Trutenko, who was accused of misconduct for not disclosing a relationship with a witness.

Foxx’s office did not respond to a request to address why one assistant accused of misconduct was fired and the other applauded.