John Lausch, Chicago’s top federal prosecutor since 2017, will be stepping down in “early 2023″ for a position in the private sector, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday at a news conference in Washington D.C.
The announcement came as part of an update from Garland on Lausch’s review of classified documents found in a private office used by President Joe Biden.
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A Trump nominee, Lausch, 52, stayed on the job after Biden’s election in 2020 because of an unusual push from Illinois’ two Democratic senators, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.
The Biden administration had originally asked Lausch to step down from his post along with other Trump holdovers. But after a bipartisan push extolling Lausch as a corruption buster, the White House announced in February 2021 that he could remain in office until a successor is confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
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Lausch, of Joliet, captained the 1987 state champion Joliet Catholic football team and later was a linebacker and team captain at Harvard University.
He was nominated by Trump after Durbin and Duckworth aided the White House in the search. Lausch succeeded Zachary Fardon, who stepped down from the post after Trump asked for the resignations of all Obama administration-era U.S. attorney holdovers.
Lausch was sworn in as U.S. attorney on Nov. 22, 2017, two weeks after being confirmed by unanimous voice vote in the Senate.
Lausch is currently overseeing a number of high-profile investigations, including the racketeering case against Ald. Edward Burke and the bribery probe involving Commonwealth Edison, and the bombshell charges levied against ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan last March.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com