United States Attorney's Office
Northern District of Illinois
Trials of corrupt former governors of Illinois, Chicago officials who rigged city hiring, individuals who supported foreign terrorism, international drug smugglers, leaders of Chicago’s violent drug-trafficking street gangs, corporate executives who cheated public shareholders, and organized crime bosses who were responsible for notorious murders ― these are among the recent, successful prosecutions that distinguish the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. While earning a reputation built over decades for battling organized crime and aggressively prosecuting public corruption, the federal prosecutor’s office in Chicago continues to uphold that tradition, even as its top priorities now also include anti-terrorism, violent crime associated with narcotics and street gangs, health care fraud and cybercrime. And extensive efforts are dedicated to providing assistance and restitution to victims of crime. In the civil arena, in addition to defending the United States against all varieties of civil claims, the U.S. Attorney’s Office recovers hundreds of millions of dollars in losses to the United States and penalties from companies and individuals who defraud federal programs. Among recent examples are judgments against an insurance company that discriminated against pregnant women and pharmacies that cheated Medicare.
In the Criminal Division, new Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) are assigned to the General Crimes Section where they receive both formal and hands-on training in federal criminal law and procedure, grand jury and trial practice. New AUSAs are quickly assigned responsibilities in investigations and trials under the supervision of more senior prosecutors, exposing them to the entire spectrum of federal offenses, including things like tax fraud, bank robbery and embezzlement, and illegal possession and sale of narcotics and firearms. After gaining experience in General Crimes, AUSAs are assigned to the other sections, such as the Narcotics Section or the Violent Crimes Section, which investigate and prosecute street gangs, gang violence, illegal guns, major narcotics distribution rings and international drug cartels. In addition to prosecutions, AUSAs seek to deter violent crimes and gang and drug activities through programs like the “parolee forums” and Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide anti-violence initiative tailored to particular circumstances in Chicago and Rockford.
Other sections of the Criminal Division are the National Security and Cybercrimes Section, which handles terrorism, counterespionage, and cybercrime investigations; the Financial Crimes Section, which handles complex, white-collar crime cases involving all sorts of frauds ― bankruptcy, investment, and mortgage fraud, for example; and the Securities and Commodities Fraud Section, which handles cases involving publicly-traded companies, regulated financial entities, and Chicago’s trading exchanges. The USAO is part of the Justice Department’s Medicare Fraud Strike Force, tackling health care fraud in Chicago.
Additionally, the Public Corruption and Organized Crime Section continues the office’s long tradition of prosecuting those who betray the public trust or use patterns of violence and corruption to protect illegal enterprises. “Organized crime” includes La Cosa Nostra (known in Chicago as the “Outfit”), as well as other emerging and transnational groups, such as Eastern European and Asian criminal organizations.
The Appellate Section of the Criminal Division oversees all criminal appeals before the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. AUSAs in that section handle cutting-edge legal issues impacting all areas of federal criminal practice, including for example, terrorism, public corruption, and fraud. The office also has select, talented trial attorneys, known as Senior Litigation Counsels, who guide and support trial teams through the office’s many and hard-fought trials.
Attorneys throughout the office engage in seizing and forfeiting defendants’ criminal assets. They attempt to “take the profit out of crime” by tracing the proceeds of drug traffickers and other criminals and obtaining their profits as restitution for victims. Additionally, Financial Litigation Unit AUSAs trace assets to collect restitution for victims of crime and debts owed to federal agencies. The office has established a track record of recovering funds from civil and criminal fines, penalties, and forfeiture, well in excess of its budget on an annual basis.
About two dozen Assistant U.S. Attorneys are assigned to the Civil Division where they handle a wide array of both defensive and a ffirmative litigation on behalf of the federal government, its agencies, and its employees. Affirmative matters include civil rights (such as fair housing, disability access, and mortgage redlining claims), environmental (including pollution and wetlands cases), food and drug cases (such as misbranded drugs or contaminated foods), and civil fraud cases, especially health care fraud. The division also defends the United States and federal officials against personal injury and medical malpractice claims, and employment discrimination lawsuits, in addition to defending challenges to federal statutes, policies, and programs. Civil Division Assistant U.S. Attorneys also represent the Government in bankruptcy matters and foreclosures.
Attorneys in the office work closely with agents of all of the federal investigative agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the offices of inspector general of the various federal agencies and executive branch departments (such as the Departments of Defense, Labor, State, and Housing and Urban Development.) The office also embraces extensive cooperation between state, local and federal law enforcement agencies.
The office is committed to diversity in hiring and typically receives hundreds of employment applications annually from lawyers, making hiring extremely competitive. Attorney applicants are evaluated on legal experience, law school performance, writing and oral communication skills, and dedication to public service, among other factors. Successful attorney applicants are expected to commit themselves to serving a minimum of four years in the office.
The office also has an extensive intern program designed to expose law students to all aspects of federal criminal and civil practice. Student interns have an opportunity to participate in and observe conferences, depositions, hearings, trials and appeals.
For further information, please write or call the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois at (312) 353-5300.
Eastern Division (Chicago)
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United States Attorney's Office Phone: (312) 353-5300 Covers Illinois Counties:
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Western Division (Rockford)
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United States Attorney's Office Phone: (815) 987-4444 Covers Illinois Counties:
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