Joliet Native Keeping Job as Chicago’s Top Federal Prosecutor
March 1, 2021 11:34AM CST

John R. Lausch Jr., the new U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, responds to a question during a meeting with reporters for the first time Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018, in Chicago. Lausch says President Donald Trump never tried to speak to him before the president nominated him for the position and told reporters on Wednesday, that he has still not spoken to the president and has not been given any instructions by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to change the priorities of the office. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Chicago’s top federal prosecutor isn’t being forced to resign as originally planned. The White House confirmed yesterday that the Biden administration won’t seek a replacement for U.S. Attorney John Lausch. Lausch was originally asked to step down by the end of last month. The change comes after U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth wrote a letter to President Biden hailing Lausch, who was nominated by President Trump in 2017. Mayor Lightfoot also called for Lausch to keep his job. Lausch is a native of Joliet who attended Joliet Catholic and won the 1987 state football championship.