Assistant United States Attorney (Project Safe Neighboorhood)

Hiring Organization

USAO Northern District of Illinois

Hiring Office

Criminal Division

Attorney Appointment Type

Attorney Permanent

Job ID

AUSA-NDIL-26-10

Location:

219 S. Dearborn Street
5th Floor
Chicago, IL 60604 - United States

Application Deadline:

Saturday, September 12, 2026

About the Office

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, for a Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) AUSA, in Chicago, Illinois. The applicant selected will represent the U.S. Government as an AUSA focusing on the investigation and prosecution of firearms-related offenses. PSN AUSAs will collaborate with law enforcement partners—especially the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)–to conduct responsive and proactive investigations of firearms offenses, and will be responsible for the full life cycle of these cases, from the initial investigation, through charging, resolution by guilty plea or trial, sentencing, and as appropriate appeal. PSN AUSAs may be considered for transfer to another section in the Criminal Division upon completion of four years of service.

Qualifications

Required 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. Prior federal or state prosecution experience is preferred, and candidates with such experience will be given serious consideration.

United States citizenship is required.

Application Process

Application information for AUSA-NDIL-26-10 is available at the following site:

To apply, please provide a complete application package, which consists of 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;
• Sample work product from the last year that demonstrates eLitigation knowledge and proficiency;
• Three professional references who are in a position to assess your eLitigation skills and qualifications; and

• 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 for the Northern District of Illinois

Applicants who fail to follow the steps above will not be considered. 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 $80,994 to $197,100 which includes 30.86% locality pay.