John R. Lausch, Jr.
John R. Lausch, Jr. was sworn in as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois on Nov. 22, 2017.
As the United States Attorney, Mr. Lausch serves as the top federal law enforcement official in the Northern District of Illinois, which contains approximately nine million people in 18 counties. The office is widely recognized for significant prosecutions involving international terrorism, violent crime, public corruption, cyber crime, financial fraud, narcotics, civil rights and numerous other criminal and civil matters. As the United States Attorney, Mr. Lausch manages more than 300 employees, including approximately 152 Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Chicago and Rockford.
Mr. Lausch previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois from 1999-2010. During that time, Mr. Lausch tried more than twenty jury cases involving racketeering, fraud, narcotics, extortion, and firearms offenses. He also briefed and argued several appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. For his work as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Mr. Lausch was twice awarded a Department of Justice Director's Award for Superior Performance. From 2005-2010, Mr. Lausch served as Deputy Chief in the Narcotics & Gangs Section, overseeing criminal prosecutions involving street gangs, fraud schemes, and corrupt public officials. He also served as the office's Violent Crime Coordinator, leading the District’s Anti-Gang and Project Safe Neighborhoods programs.
From 2010 until his appointment as the United States Attorney, Mr. Lausch worked in private law practice in Chicago. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 1999, Mr. Lausch served as law clerk for the Honorable Michael S. Kanne of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Mr. Lausch earned his law degree in 1996 from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in General Studies (Government Concentration) in 1992 from Harvard University, where he served as captain of the football team.
Mr. Lausch has lectured on federal criminal practice at the University of Chicago Law School, and coached a trial team at the John Marshall Law School. He has also taught trial advocacy to Assistant U.S. Attorneys from around the country at the Department of Justice's National Advocacy Center.