Chicago U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros discusses Operation Midway Blitz, government shutdown
The top federal prosecutor in Chicago is speaking candidly about the ongoing immigration enforcement operation in the area, the recent federal government shutdown, and the impacts they have had on his office.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News Chicago, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Andrew Boutros described the extraordinary pressure on his staff, calling his first few months on the job "unprecedented."
Boutros first took the job on an interim basis in April, when he was appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi. In July, Chicago's federal judges picked him to serve as the permanent U.S. Attorney in Chicago.
Within months, Boutros would find himself navigating Operation Midway Blitz, the largest ever immigration enforcement surge in Chicago's history, amid what was the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
"There were hundreds, and probably hundreds of thousands of peaceful protestors throughout that 60-day period. We only arrested and prosecuted a small portion of it, and those are when the flagrant foul had to be called," he said.
Boutros said his office is still working through the tail end of Operation Midway Blitz cases, but at its peak, a skeleton crew handled double-digit arrest numbers seven days a week, with charging decisions that could pivot instantly as the evidence changed.
"We were making decisions sometimes at two o'clock and three o'clock in the morning, at midnight," he said. "When new evidence would come forward, and new video would come forward, and new things would come forward, there are plenty of cases which we initially charged which we decided no longer to pursue."
For the majority of that time, federal prosecutors worked without pay. His office is still waiting for that first paycheck since the shutdown, which ended last week.
Security fencing still in place around the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in downtown Chicago still serves a reminder of the political tension over many of the cases and the decisions handed down by federal judges.
The Trump administration has repeatedly called judges who have ruled against the president's efforts to deploy the National Guard in Illinois, or have restricted federal agents' use of force in Chicago as "activist judges," but Boutros – whose office has not been involved in those lawsuits – said he has always had respect for the judicial process.
"How the judges handle those cases once we file them, we leave that up to the courts. We respect the court system and the rule of law," Boutros said.
Despite the distraction, Boutros also said he's proud of his office's unprecedented nearly 300% increase in federal firearm indictments brought under what's being dubbed "Project Safe Neighborhoods."
One example is a case from the South Shore neighborhood. Federal prosecutors charged Fabias Shipman with shooting two people, killing one of them, in an alley on September 25. Charging documents say he was a convicted felon in possession of a gun.
Boutros also declared the CTA's entire 'L' system as part of the downtown Project Safe Neighborhood zone — which brings more federal resources to keep transit riders safe.
"It had just never been done before. Not only had it never been done before in Chicago, it had never been done before anywhere else in America. So, we were going to be the first ones to do it in a model," he said.
Boutros said when he took office, they were down about 50 prosecutors, but he's already made some big hires and hopes to get another 30 people on staff in the next few months.
Timing is crucial, as the current bill to fund the government runs through Jan. 30.