U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois John Milhiser has officially resigned from his position on the state’s highest federal court. According to a press release, Milhiser’s resignation will officially be in place on February 28th.
Milhiser thanked the Illinois Congressional Delegation who had recently lobbied current President Joe Biden to be retained until a successor was named. He also thanked them for their support in originally recommending him to former President Donald Trump as an appointee. Milhiser began serving in October 2018.
During Milhiser’s tenure, the U.S. Attorney’s Office successfully prosecuted numerous defendants including the weeks-long trials of Brent Christenson who, in July 2019, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the June 2017 murder of visiting Chinese scholar Yingying Zhang, and of 13 members of a Peoria street gang convicted and sentenced for acts of violence including murder, attempted murder, and drug trafficking. Pending cases include civil rights charges against three Illinois correctional officers who allegedly assaulted an inmate, who was restrained and handcuffed behind his back, and who later died, and the recent indictment of former Illinois senator and gubernatorial candidate Sam McCann for fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion related to his alleged misuse of campaign funds.
Milhiser initiated and conducted numerous training and educational events. This included a new initiative known as BLAST, Building Lasting Relationships Between Police and Community, that not only introduced high school students to career opportunities in criminal justice, but also promoted greater mutual understanding between citizens and law enforcement officers.
Prior to serving in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Milhiser served 2 terms as the Sangamon County State’s Attorney.