Hiring Organization
USAO Northern District of Illinois
Hiring Office
Chicago, IL
Attorney Appointment Type
Attorney Permanent
Job ID
AUSA-NDIL-26-3
Location:
219 S. Dearborn Street
5th Floor
Chicago, IL 60604 - United States
Application Deadline:
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
About the Office
This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will close no later than August 11, 2026. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until all positions are filled.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois (NDIL) has more than 160 Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) working in its Criminal and Civil Divisions. NDIL has two offices, one located in Chicago and the other in Rockford. Criminal AUSAs handle a wide variety of cases, including drug trafficking, firearms and other violent crime offenses, immigration offenses, terrorism-related offenses, cyber-crimes, and a variety of fraud, public corruption, and white-collar offenses. Criminal AUSAs represent the United States in grand jury and judicial proceedings in United States District Court and appeals in the United States Court of Appeals. Civil AUSAs handle an array of defensive and affirmative litigation on behalf of the United States, its agencies, and employees before the United States District Court and the United States Court of Appeals. Defensive litigation includes medical malpractice and other personal injury cases, employment discrimination cases, challenges to agency actions, FOIA, and immigration. Affirmative matters include civil rights, environmental, food and drug, along with health care and other civil fraud cases. All AUSAs are responsible for substantial legal research and writing. The dynamic practice in the Office is both challenging and demanding. It represents an extraordinary opportunity and privilege to represent the United States and to participate in all aspects of federal criminal or civil law and practice.
Job Description
The Northern District of Illinois, Chicago Office is accepting applications for Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) openings in its Criminal Division in Chicago, Illinois. The applicant selected will represent the U.S. Government as an AUSA in a wide range of unique and complex cases and trials. The applicant must be committed to working on the full range of federal criminal cases that the Office handles. That includes the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes; firearms offenses; drug crimes; human trafficking; criminal immigration matters; public corruption; money laundering violations; national security cases; general crimes; and all varieties of white-collar crime and frauds, including federal program frauds and frauds in areas such as healthcare, trade and customs, mortgage, tax, Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP"), among others.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
Qualifications
Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar (any jurisdiction), and have at least 2 years of post-J.D. experience. Your application materials should demonstrate excellent academics, significant litigation experience, criminal law experience, strong legal writing skills, and a commitment to public service.
United States citizenship is required.
Political Appointees (Current or Former): The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.
Application Process
Application information for AUSA-NDIL-26-3 is available at the following site: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/job-listing.
To apply, please provide the following 5 items:
Item 1 must be submitted through the USAJobs portal AND sent via email, in PDF format, to
[email protected].
Resume and cover letter
Items 2-5 should ONLY be submitted via email, in PDF format, to
[email protected]. PLEASE DO NOT submit items 2-5 through the USAJobs portal.
Law school transcript
Writing sample written by you within the last year
Three letters of professional recommendation from people who are in a position to assess your legal skills
AUSA Questionnaire and Personal Statement indicating why you think you would be a good trial lawyer and why you want to work in the U.S. Attorney’s Office
Your application package will not be considered complete, and will not be reviewed for consideration, until all 5 items have been received.
No telephone calls please.
Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflicts of interest or disqualification issues that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.
Salary
Assistant United States Attorneys’ pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay is $85,796 to $197,100 which includes 30.86% locality pay.
