* Sun-Times…
Congressional Republicans from Illinois have recommended four lawyers to the Trump White House for the U.S. Attorney post in Chicago, with one of them, Maggie Hickey, likely out of the running because Democrats don’t want Hickey — now a top official for GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner — in the spot, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
The other top potential nominees to replace former U.S. Attorney Zach Fardon in the Northern District of Illinois are attorneys John Lausch, Michael Scudder and Andrew Porter, sources said. In all, a pool of about a dozen names for the Chicago slot were sent to the White House, with Hickey, Lausch, Scudder and Porter flagged as frontrunners. […]
Hickey’s present position as a Rauner political appointee makes her viability as a contender to replace Fardon problematic: She has been Rauner’s Executive Inspector General since July 2015, winning confirmation for her post on May 23, 2016, on a 52-0 state Senate vote.
But that bi-partisan vote does not translate when it comes to the selection of Fardon’s replacement, with an entirely different set of politics for the high-stakes job.
According to the article, Hickey was recommended by the governor. But giving a Raunerite full federal prosecutorial powers is probably not something the Democrats in this state relish, to say the least. That’s nightmare city for them.
*** UPDATE *** From a senior GOP source…
We didn’t put Maggie forward… The article wasn’t right.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 22, 17 @ 12:17 pm:
Maybe if Rauner just comes out and embraces President Trump, invites Trump to Illinois, takes photos with President Trump, it might help.
Just a thought.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Jun 22, 17 @ 12:17 pm:
Meh, Hickey is probably too busy chasing down how the Cellini crew got back in the lease business and riding herd on those critical IT consultant contracts.
- Mr Peabody - Thursday, Jun 22, 17 @ 12:18 pm:
Hey, maybe Ms. Hickey can tell us how her investigation of Director Sheldon is going?
She seems to be stuck in a revolving door.
She came from the US attorney’s office, where she was hired by Patrick Fitzgerald.
Before that, she was chief-of-staff for US Senator Peter Fitzgerald, where she led the effort to hire Patrick Fitzgerald.
Did I mention she is the daughter-in-law of a former Congressman?
She doesn’t seem to have done much to distinguish herself as a US attorney or inspector general. She certainly is not the strongest person to lead the fight against political patronage.
- Keyrock - Thursday, Jun 22, 17 @ 12:21 pm:
That’s not entirely fair to Hickey, who was a top aide to Pat Fitzgerald and has a long career of public service.
Launch and Porter were both supervisors under Fitzgerald. Their work was more gang focused than corruption, though Lausch did important prosecution of Chicago cops.
The interesting person is Scudder, who has a sterling resume in Washington and New York and could come into the offiicr relatively fresh, like Fitzgerald.
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Jun 22, 17 @ 12:27 pm:
Hickey’s not bad - pretty straight and narrow, even though she’s a Rauner appointee. Not sure this is the right hill to die on.
- ChicagoR - Thursday, Jun 22, 17 @ 12:28 pm:
I certainly hope it’s Scudder. I went to law school with him, and while I may not agree with him on many political issues (or with the administration he worked for), I’ve never met someone in my life who I view as more of a straight shooter.
- Texas Red - Thursday, Jun 22, 17 @ 12:32 pm:
The Dem machine will protect their own at all costs. MJM has his daughter at the state level, Durbin and Duckworth will get him protection at the Fed level.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Jun 22, 17 @ 12:57 pm:
Regarding the update, I’m not surprised. If Maggie Hickey is taking her current job seriously, and I have no reason to believe she is not, then the last place Rauner wants her to go is the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Executive Inspector Generals release reports. US Attorneys unseal indictments.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Jun 22, 17 @ 1:03 pm:
That should be “Executive Inspectors General.” My bad.
- The Captain - Thursday, Jun 22, 17 @ 1:31 pm:
I’m more anti-Rauner than most but an Executive Inspector General is not an ally. It’s not like a general counsel or someone in the counsel’s office who is advising and helping to govern and strategize, there’s a distance when it comes to the OEIG.
- Roman - Thursday, Jun 22, 17 @ 2:02 pm:
== We didn’t put Maggie forward ==
Might they put her forward for Attorney General?
It might not be fair, but given her father’s extreme unpopularity, Lisa Madigan has to be worried about a Rauner-funded challenge.