179 charged in "Operation New Dawn" anti-violence initiative, Chicago top federal prosecutor announces

Chicago's top federal prosecutor announced 179 people have been charged in 140 newly filed criminal cases as the result of an intensive two-month operation coordinated across 11 federal agencies.

U.S. Attorney for Northern Illinois Andrew Boutros announced the results of "Operation New Dawn" Thursday morning. Lasting about 60 days, the operation's mission was focused "exclusively on disrupting violence in the Chicago and Rockford areas," his office said in a press release.

Boutros said that as a result of the operation, on top of the 140 new criminal cases, 305 fugitives were taken into custody, and 24 missing children – many of whom Boutros said were kidnapped –were found and returned home safely.

The operation was carried out through the cooperation of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, the IRS Criminal Investigation division, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Boutros also thanked the Chicago Police Department for "strong, sustained support and assistance" through "Operation New Dawn."

The announcement came at a time when Boutros and his office are under intense scrutiny in the wake of grand jury misconduct in the "Broadview Six" case. Yesterday, Boutros said his office will review more than 1,000 criminal cases dating back to 2007 after revelations about conduct from federal prosecutors with grand juries, with the potential for overturned convictions and dropped charges.

Already, 10 defendants in three cases have seen charges dropped so far and it's unclear how many more cases could be dropped moving forward.