The top federal law enforcement position in northern Illinois may be filled soon. A nominee to be the permanent U.S. attorney for the region will soon be announced, two years after the city last had one.
NBC 5 Investigates has confirmed that Andrew Boutros has officially been tapped to become the Chicago district's next interim U.S. Attorney.
His position will be effective April 7.
NBC Chicago learned on Friday that Boutros' position was officially announced, two years after John Lausch stepped down and former President Joe Biden was unable to get a replacement confirmed thanks to now-Vice President J.D. Vance, who at the time put dozens of confirmations on hold in the Senate.
"The law has always been complicated and complex; but the world in which we live in I think has gotten more complicated with the passage of time and with technology..." Boutros said in a 2022 video presentation for the law firm where he was employed at the time, overseeing White Collar criminal defense cases.
He was formerly a federal prosecutor and partner with the law firm of Shook, Hardy and Bacon, with offices in Chicago and Washington DC. Boutros handles government investigations in the capital.
Legal sources tell NBC Chicago that Boutros will be a nominee for the permanent role, requiring the approval of the Senate.
Chicago has been without a permanent U.S. Attorney since March 2023 when Lausch stepped down.
Local
In a joint statement Friday, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) said, "The White House has assured our offices that there will be no nomination for the permanent role of U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois until the White House Counsel’s Office has consulted with both of our offices."
Former President Joe Biden's nominee for the Chicago job was stalled in the Senate, one of dozens of confirmations blocked by Vance.
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Boutros will oversee an office of more than 150 prosecutors in Chicago and Rockford. Boutros worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney for eight years beginning in 2007, prosecuting the world's largest online drug trafficker on the dark web as part of the investigation into "Silk Road."
Boutros' prosecution work in what was described as “the largest food fraud in U.S. history” landed him a starring role in a documentary entitled “Rotten.”
Legal sources tonight tell NBC Chicago that Boutros wasn't on the original list of three names that Illinois Rep. Darin LaHood sent to the White House. Apparently, Trump rejected those three in his favor.
LaHood issued the following statement Friday evening:
"The Northern District of Illinois plays a critical role in fighting crime and public corruption. The Trump Administration worked swiftly to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney to help the people of Chicago and northern Illinois. I am confident this will address rising crime rates, support enforcement of our immigration laws, fight public corruption, and restore faith in our justice system. I look forward to continuing to work with the Administration on these vital issues as they work to permanently fill the vital U.S. Attorney role," LaHood said in a statement.
