Duckworth, Durbin Demand Resignation Of U.S. Attorney Boutros

CHICAGO — U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin are calling for U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Andrew Boutros to resign.

Duckworth and Durbin, both Illinois Democrats, released a joint statement calling for Boutros to step down and for a new search process to nominate the next U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

“Andrew Boutros’s time as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois has been riddled with chaos, deep internal dysfunction, and alleged misconduct,” Duckworth and Durbin said in the statement. “He must resign, and there must be an open, transparent, and nonpartisan search to nominate the next U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.”

Durbin is the Democratic whip and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

RELATED: Feds Announce 'Sweeping' Reforms In Wake Of Dismissed Broadview Six Case

The statement comes after the collapse of the “Broadview Six” case, in which all remaining charges were dismissed after a federal judge reviewed unredacted grand jury transcripts.

Patch previously reported that U.S. District Judge April Perry said she was “incredibly shocked” by what she saw in the transcripts. The transcripts described a federal prosecutor “vouching” for evidence, telling grand jurors who disagreed with the government’s theory they could leave, and having ex parte communications with a juror outside the proceedings.

The case stemmed from a Sept. 26, 2025, protest outside the Broadview ICE facility, where prosecutors had alleged six defendants impeded a federal vehicle.

After the charges were dismissed, Boutros announced what he described as “sweeping reforms” to grand jury practices in the Northern District of Illinois.

Patch previously reported the reforms included establishing clearer rules for federal prosecutors related to grand jury disclosures, along with expanded education and training.

Boutros said at the time that the U.S. Attorney’s Office had initiated a review of other grand jury presentations that could have been similarly affected. He also said the office had taken action related to internal personnel matters.

Duckworth and Durbin said the next U.S. Attorney should be selected through an open, transparent and nonpartisan process.

Boutros became interim U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois in April 2025 after previously serving as a federal prosecutor in Chicago. Before returning to the office, he worked in private practice as a white-collar attorney.

On Tuesday afternoon, Boutrous' office issued what it called a "rare special report regarding grand jury appearances," saying, "He has never appeared before any grand jury hearing or deliberating evidence on any matter since becoming U.S. Attorney on April 7, 2025."

In a statement, the office said, "As addressed in the Special Report, U.S. Attorney Boutros’s only appearances in the federal grand juries of the Northern District of Illinois were to welcome grand jurors when first impaneled."

Boutrous attributed claims that he appeared before the "Broadview 6" grand jury to a transcription error.

The statement goes on:

That speculation was created on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in open court, when counsel for the one of the defendants in United States v. Rabbitt, et al., 25 CR 693 (Perry, J.) stated in relevant part in open court before going into closed session that: “We have a belief that the U.S. Attorney had personal contact with this grand jury. We have not been provided with that transcript. I believe there’s an update on that. If that did occur, we would like that as well.” ...

The Special Report conclusively shows that a transcription error by the court reporter transcribing the audio recording of the grand jury minutes from October 23, 2025, inadvertently and mistakenly stated “USA (inaudible),” instead of “AUSA Bond,” with the latter being a reference to Assistant United States Attorney Aaron Bond, the Chief of the Office’s Narcotics Section, who had appeared before the same grand jury on a different, unrelated matter on October 9, 2025. Thus, the grand jury minutes from October 23, 2025, reflect a classic case of mistaken identity, namely, that “USA (inaudible)” appeared before that grand jury on a matter when in fact, Chief of Narcotics Aaron Bond appeared before the same grand jury on a different matter on October 9, 2025. Steps are being taken to attempt to correct the relevant minutes.

The full Special Report can be read here.