Crime & Law

Andrew Boutros Sworn in as Chicago’s Interim Top Federal Prosecutor

Chicago has a new interim top federal prosecutor as Andrew Boutros took his oath of office and was sworn in Monday as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

Boutros was sworn in Monday at the Dirksen Federal Building in a ceremony before U.S. District Chief Judge Virginia Kendall, who administered the oath of office.

“I am humbled and honored to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago,” Boutros said in a statement Monday. “As U.S. Attorney, I am committed to working alongside old and new colleagues to tackle the important problems that face our District. In addition, I look forward to working with our law enforcement partners to continue the Office’s longstanding tradition of pursuing justice on behalf of the citizens of the Northern District of Illinois.”

Boutros was appointed by President Donald Trump’s administration after the position was held in limbo for two years following the resignation of former U.S. Attorney John Lausch back in 2023.

A permanent pick for the position would require Senate confirmation.  

He takes over for Morris Pasqual, who served as acting U.S. Attorney in the Northern District since Lausch stepped down. But Pasqual won’t be going far, as Boutros on Monday selected him to be the office’s first assistant U.S. Attorney, a leadership role Pasqual previously held.

Boutros previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney himself for nearly eight years before moving into private practice.

While working as a prosecutor, he worked on hundreds of cases and secured convictions in high-profile trials of Ross Ulbricht, who founded the online black market known as the Silk Road, and one of the market’s most prolific drug dealers.

He also worked on the “Honeygate” case, which became known as the largest case of food fraud in U.S. history.

Boutros has also taught an advanced criminal law course at the University of Chicago’s Law School for 15 years.

After Boutros was nominated for the post last month, Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth issued a statement saying simply that: “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.”

Following Lausch’s resignation, then-President Joe Biden nominated April Perry to become the first-ever woman to lead the Northern District of Illinois. But her appointment, and those of several others, ran into a roadblock from then-Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, who accused the Biden administration of using the Justice Department to harass the president’s political opponents.

In December, Biden instead nominated Perry to become a federal judge.

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