The Cook County state's attorney says she won't comment further on the Jussie Smollett case in Chicago while another deputy from Kim Foxx's office announced she was stepping down as a county inspector general finishes his review of prosecutors' decision to drop charges against the Empire actor.

Kim Foxx said in a written statement Friday that she doesn't want any comments by her to interfere with the inspector general's work compiling 'reliable and accurate records' on the matter.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and others criticized the decision by Foxx's office last month to drop charges accusing Smollett of staging a racist, anti-gay attack against himself in January.

Kiera Ellis (left), who held the position of director of external affairs under Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx (right), is no longer in the position

Ellis is the third senior aide in Foxx's office who is either no longer on the job or has stated their intent to resign since prosecutors dropped charges against Empire actor Jussie Smollett (seen above in a Chicago courtroom last month)

Foxx has publicly defended the dismissal of charges.

But she said Friday she would engage in 'a candid conversation' about the case only after the inspector general submits his findings.

Foxx requested the review.

Meanwhile, a third deputy from Foxx’s office is either out of the job or on their way out.

Kiera Ellis, who held the position of director of external affairs, abruptly left her position, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office confirmed to DailyMail.com on Friday.

There was no word as to whether Ellis was fired or she resigned.

Ellis first joined the office in October. She was reportedly on the job as recently as Thursday, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Chief ethics officer April Perry, who also served as Foxx's chief deputy, and the head of the conviction integrity unit Mark Rotert, right, are leaving amid turmoil over the Smollett case

Her departure was confirmed a day after it was announced that two of Foxx's top deputies are set to leave her office amid growing turmoil over its handling of the Smollett case, including the officer who announced the prosecutor had recused herself.

Chief ethics officer April Perry, who also served as Foxx's chief deputy, and the head of the conviction integrity unit Mark Rotert will leave their posts next month, it has been confirmed.

Perry was the officer who wrote a memo to the office announcing Foxx had recused herself from the Smollett case after it emerged she had exchanged text messages with a member of his family in the days after the incident.

Her email read: 'Please note that State's Attorney Kim Foxx is recused from the investigation involving victim Jussie Smollett. First Assistant State's Attorney Joe Magats is serving as the Acting State's Attorney for this matter.'

Foxx then handed the case over to her deputy Joe Magats and weeks later the 16 grand jury charges against Smollett were suddenly dropped.

Foxx handed the case over to her deputy Joe Magats, pictured, and weeks later the 16 grand jury charges against Jussie Smollett were suddenly dropped

But while she announced at the time that she was recusing herself, she has since said she meant it in a 'colloquial' sense rather than a 'legal sense' and that it was more an informal decision to 'step away from the decision making' rather than remove herself entirely from it.

And the release of thousands of texts and emails this week show Foxx continued to meddle in the case, calling the actor a 'washed up celeb who lied to cops' and telling Magats that the actor was being overcharged.

It is understood Perry, who started working under Foxx two years ago, will start work for a tech start-up while veteran prosecutor Rotert is set to retire.

He handed in his notice a day before all charges against Empire actor Smollett were dropped. Perry resigned Wednesday and they both will leave May 3.

Rotert told The Chicago Sun Times: '(Smollett's case) had absolutely zero percent to do with my decision.'

Perry is said to have not responded to requests for comment but her name is said to appear in emails between Foxx and her staff in connection with the Smollett case.

The case against Smollett, 36, was suddenly dropped last month by Foxx's office in questionable circumstances and questions surrounding Foxx's alleged role in that decision have run rampant since.

In a statement to W9N9 Foxx thanked Perry and Rotert for their work for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

She said: 'I am profoundly grateful for Mark's work to make the Cook County Conviction Integrity Unit a national model.

Kim Foxx sent these text messages to her deputy on March 8 after a grand jury indicted Smollett on 16 counts of lying to police. She had already 'recused' herself for speaking to Smollett's family but continued to interfere in the case by telling her deputies that the charges were excessive. The charges were dropped two weeks later

Smollett was arrested in February for allegedly lying about the attack. Police say he paid Abel and Ola Osundairo to attack him and that he thought he could use it as leverage to get a raise on Empire, a claim he denies

'Under his tenure, we have vacated the convictions of over 70 wrongfully convicted men and women. We have created national standards and protocols for reviewing past convictions.

'The people of Cook County have been well served by his leadership and he has well earned his retirement.

'I am also grateful for April Perry's tenure as the first ever Chief Ethics Officer for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

'She has been a valuable resource to the office in ensuring that we operate with the highest levels of integrity and professionalism. I wish her well in her new endeavors.'

Empire actor Smollett was accused of staging an attack on himself on January 29 to try to get a raise on the show.

Police say he paid Abel and Ola Osundairo to beat him in what he then described as a racist, homophobic attack by two Trump-loving perpetrators. He has always maintained his innocence and insisted he was attacked.

Foxx's office maintains it has not acted unethically and welcomes an independent investigation.

In a statement to DailyMail.com, Foxx said: 'After the indictment became public, I reached out to Joe to discuss reviewing office policies to assure consistencies in our charging and our use of appropriate charging authority.

'I was elected to bring criminal justice reform and that includes intentionality, consistency, and discretion. I will continue to uphold these guiding principles.'

