John
Childress, temporary head of the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central
District of Illinois, is leaving.
Sharon
Paul, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Springfield, confirmed
Childress’ departure from the district. She said she did not know when
Childress will leave his post. Childress could not be reached for comment, but Tim Horty, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Indianapolis confirmed that Childress is joining the U.S. attorney’s staff in that city effective Nov. 13. Childress will work as a supervisor in the civil division of the Indianapolis office, Horty said.
Childress
has served as interim U.S. attorney since November of last year. The office has
been without a permanent boss since Jim Lewis, who became U.S. attorney in 2010,
resigned the post after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. Trump in
August nominated Sangamon County state’s attorney John Milhiser to become U.S.
attorney, but the Senate has not confirmed the nomination. It’s not clear who would lead the U.S. attorney’s office in the event Childress’ departure becomes effective before the Senate acts on the Milhiser nomination.
Childress
launched his legal career in Springfield as a clerk for U.S. District Court
Judge Richard Mills. After a stint as an assistant state’s attorney, he went
into private practice, then joined the U.S. attorney’s office as a prosecutor
in 2001. He was appointed a Sangamon County associate judge in 2007, but
resigned that post in 2013 to return to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Contact Bruce Rushton
at brushton@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Oct 18-24, 2018.
