Fighting the Good Fight: Patrick Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois

According to the June 27^th wpix.com article, ''Fitzgerald: 'The vindication is to the people' '', Fitzgerald was quoted as once having said in regard to Blago's behavior that it was a ''political corruption crime spree'' and also that his actions would make ''Lincoln roll over in his grave.''

Fitzgerald's remarks set the tone for what followed: two trials over two and a half years - the first of which ended in a deadlocked jury - and increased pressure on the government to get its man.

And get its man the government did. Following Blago's conviction, Fitzgerald was quoted as having said in the wpix.com article: ''The vindication is to the people of Illinois. It's right that the citizens' interests are vindicated. That's not a personal joy. It's bittersweet, but we needed them to see that.''

With nearly a decade in office, Fitzgerald has the longest service record of any U.S. attorney in Chicago's history. His office's conviction of Blago marks the second conviction of a former governor during his time in office - George Ryan. Additionally, other high profiles cases have included his office's pursuit of media magnate Conrad Black, aides to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley in the Hired Truck Program, and Jon Burge, Chicago detective and alleged torturer.

Fitzgerald also made his prosecuting bones with cases that included indicting Osama bin Laden far in advance of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, prosecuting terrorists for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and the 1998 attacks in East Africa on U.S. embassies.

Sergio Acosta, a former assistant U.S. attorney, was quoted as saying in the wpix.com article that: ''It's obvious anytime you arrest a sitting governor, it's significant. It's a significant national case'' and that ''the office here has a very long tradition as being the leading office in the country as far as investigations of public corruption.''

Fitzgerald received his juris doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1985. In 1988, after practicing civil law, Fitzgerald became an Assistant United States Attorney in New York City. In this role, he assisted in the prosecution of Mafia figure John Gambino. He became the National Security Coordinator for the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 1996.

Patrick J. Fitzgerald has served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois since September of 2001. The United States Senate confirmed his nomination by unanimous consent and President Bush signed his commission on October 29, 2001.

From 2001 through 2005, Fitzgerald served on the Attorney General's Advisory Committee, and was Chair of the sub-committee on terrorism. Additionally, he is a member of the President's Corporate Fraud Task Force. In 2003, he was named Special Counsel to investigate the alleged disclosure of the identity of a purported employee of the Central Intelligence Agency, per information at the justice.gov website.

As U.S. Attorney, Mr. Fitzgerald is the district's top federal law enforcement official. A staff of over 300 employees reports to him, which include almost 160 Assistant U.S. Attorneys. Fitzgerald's office handles civil litigation, criminal investigations and prosecutions involving public corruption, narcotics trafficking, violent crime, and other federal crimes.

The Northern District of Illinois includes nearly 20 northern Illinois counties, with a population approaching nine million people.

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