In an unexpected shakeup, Chicago’s legal scene has been rattled by a wave of departures from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as reported by the ABC7 I-Team.
This year alone, the Northern District of Illinois has witnessed the exit of at least seven senior prosecutors, marking an unusual leadership turnover.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
Observers highlight that the departure of these seasoned attorneys could lead to a significant gap in institutional expertise, posing challenges in filling their shoes.
“We’ve never seen such a rapid succession of high-level departures here before. It’s truly without precedent,” stated Gil Soffer, ABC7’s Chief Legal Analyst.
Within the office’s criminal division, prosecutors are divided into eight sections, each led by a chief.
This year, five section chiefs have stepped down or announced plans to leave, including Sarah Streicker, Amarjeet Bhachu, Steve Dollear, Brian Kerwin, and Scott Edenfield. Additionally, Erika Csicsila, who led the entire criminal division, has also departed, and Barry Jonas, a key figure in national security prosecutions, is no longer on the team.
“It’s going to be a real challenge for the office. Like many organizations, the office has a pyramid structure to it. U.S. Attorney at the top, line prosecutors at the bottom, supervisors, chiefs, managers in the middle. You can lose one or two of those supervisors over time and not have too much disruption. If you lose too many all at once, it’s much harder to replace that subject matter expertise and that management experience,” Soffer told the I-Team.
Soffer was a federal prosecutor in the Chicago office for six years.
“It’s almost always the case that a new U.S. Attorney will have a new first assistant as top lieutenant, so that’s someone who certainly will change over with administrations. But it’s also common that people below that level at the chief level… those tend to be people who are in those positions longer term, and that’s why it’s so unusual to see so many departures at that level now in so short a period of time,” Soffer said.
In February, the Northern District of Illinois told the I-Team they had 144 prosecutors.
Andrew Boutros was sworn in as U.S. Attorney in April on an interim basis and was later officially appointed to role. Under his leadership, the office continues to shrink. In July, they were down to 126 prosecutors.
In August, an unorthodox recruiting email was sent on behalf of U.S. Attorney Boutros, inviting former prosecutors to return to the office.
“That was in a way, anticipating this, whether by design or otherwise. But you know, you can see there an effort to fill positions with experienced formers,” Soffer said.
Now, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says it is down to 125 prosecutors. But they say their indictments this year are up 45% compared to the same time period last year.
Many former prosecutors told the I-Team they are concerned about the leadership brain drain happening at the office.
“It’s a big percentage. No matter how you slice it, five departures at the chief level, at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, is a big percentage,” Soffer said.
U.S. Attorney Boutros said in a press release Friday he is hiring several dozen new Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the criminal and civil divisions in the coming months. He is also touting an increase in federal firearm indictments and prosecutions this year, saying his office has achieved “impressive results” with far fewer prosecutors and resources.
