U.S. attorney in Chicago outlines large review of grand-jury practices after misconduct revelations

Andrew S. Boutros, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, announced a comprehensive remediation plan on Friday to review past grand-jury practices in his office after revelations of prosecutorial misconduct.

Boutros said his office has implemented a prospective first phase establishing "bright line rules" for federal prosecutors on handling grand-jury materials to prevent future errors. He described a second, retroactive phase that will review grand-jury presentations involving a specific prosecutor dating back to 2007 and a broader review of pending grand-jury matters across the district.

"Well over a thousand grand jury presentations will be reviewed in the Northern District of Illinois," Boutros said, adding the review will be both retroactive and current and would include cases pending in court. He said the review will examine categories of prosecutors and grand-jury minutes to ensure ethical and legal standards are met.

Boutros said the goal is to provide confidence that pending cases are not affected by the identified issues and to litigate any problems raised by defendants. He said the review is being formulated and is underway.

The announcement accompanies separate DOJ criminal filings described at the same briefing involving alleged members of Tren de Aragua; Boutros emphasized the district is simultaneously pursuing violence-related prosecutions while addressing internal practice concerns.