Federal firearm indictments in the Northern District of Illinois have jumped sharply in 2025, driven by an expanded Project Safe Neighborhoods effort, stronger interagency tools, and an emphasis on prosecuting violent offenders.
Federal firearm indictments under the U.S. Attorney’s Office Project Safe Neighborhoods program are up 292 percent in the Northern District of Illinois compared to last year through Oct. 31, 2025. The number of defendants charged in PSN firearm indictments is up 287 percent over the same period, reflecting a major uptick in federal enforcement focused on gun violence. Those gains come as U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros widened PSN’s reach to downtown Chicago and the entire Chicago Transit Authority rail system earlier this year.
The expanded PSN footprint now covers parts of three Chicago Police districts in downtown economic corridors and every CTA train line that funnels residents and travelers into the city’s business centers and airports. Officials say this marks the first time PSN has been deployed on mass transit anywhere in the country and the first federal PSN designation for Chicago’s downtown economic zones. The change is meant to target violent offenders who bring guns into the heart of the city and onto public transit.
The PSN strategy emphasizes pairing enforcement with a broad coalition of federal, state, and local partners to identify and tackle the most pressing violent crime problems. One key asset backing prosecutions is ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center of Chicago, which processes every gun case in the Northern District on a daily basis. That centralized hub brings investigators, prosecutors, and analysts together to speed investigations and move high-impact cases toward federal prosecution.
U.S. Attorney Boutros framed the effort as a resources-and-results approach. “Combatting the epidemic of gun crime and violence is a national priority for this Department of Justice, and it is a top priority of mine as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois,” he said. “It is for that reason that I have invested substantial resources into our Violent Crimes Section while demonstrating with action that we will strongly support our law enforcement partners and accept their most significant cases for federal prosecution. The results are not only a deepening of relationships with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, but also a dramatic increase in our prosecutions and high-impact matters,” U.S. Attorney Boutros continued.
Boutros also stressed the office’s broad federal responsibilities and commitment to prosecution across program areas. “A fundamental duty of our Office is to tackle crimes across the various federal program areas that we service,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “That applies to narco-terrorism and terrorism cases, drug and gun trafficking organizations, public corruption, organized crime, money laundering, child-exploitation and human trafficking cases, cybercrimes, assaults on Postal Employees and other federal officers and personnel, as well as program fraud, healthcare fraud, and otherwise. We are committed to investigating and prosecuting federal criminal cases on behalf of all of our law enforcement partners to disrupt the cycle of ongoing crime in Chicago.”
The recent enforcement push follows the government reopening after the long shutdown and comes on the heels of other major operations, such as “Operation Midway Blitz,” an immigration enforcement surge led by DHS and ICE. Officials say the renewed federal focus, plus improved investigative tools, is producing measurable results beyond firearms cases. Through Oct. 31, 2025, overall federal criminal indictments in the Northern District are up 45 percent (366 versus 252), while the total number of defendants charged across all program areas is up 52 percent (494 versus 325).
ATF leadership highlighted the role of the CGIC in driving down violent crime and feeding cases into federal courts. “Through the Crime Gun Intelligence Center of Chicago (CGIC) partnership, we have made a significant impact on reducing violent crime in Chicago,” said Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the ATF Chicago Field Division. “Increased federal prosecutions under the leadership of U.S. Attorney Boutros have been instrumental in ensuring that violent offenders are swiftly brought to justice. ATF will remain focused on its top priority: tackling violent crime and taking drivers of violence off our streets.”
Other federal partners echoed the same theme of collaboration and accountability. “The FBI works to ensure that the threat of violent crime does not endanger the livelihood or safety of the hardworking people in this great city,” said Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI Chicago Field Office. “Thanks to the outstanding collaboration within the network of law enforcement and prosecutorial partners in Project Safe Neighborhoods, our communities are safer and more well-resourced than ever. The FBI remains committed to developing proactive solutions and holding accountable anyone who seeks to compromise the safety of those who live in or visit Chicago.”
Drug enforcement officials signaled continued focus on violent drug trafficking that fuels gun violence. “The DEA Chicago Field Division will continue leveraging all resources at our disposal to combat drug-related violent crime,” said Shane R. Catone, Special Agent-in-Charge of the DEA Chicago Field Division. “Disrupting and dismantling violent drug trafficking organizations and their supply chains is crucial to keeping Americans safe. Alongside our federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial partners, the DEA will continue to relentlessly pursue accountability of violent drug traffickers inflicting harm upon our communities throughout Illinois.”
U.S. Marshals emphasized enforcement against violent offenders who attack public servants and the public. “Criminal violence of any kind—including assaults and attacks on federal agents and other government personnel—are unacceptable,” said LaDon A. Reynolds, United States Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois. “The U.S. Marshals Service will investigate and seek to hold accountable people who break the law with violence. U.S. Attorney Boutros has been a strong and reliable partner in our efforts, and we look forward to continuing to closely work with him and his team.”
Boutros noted his office had been operating with fewer prosecutors than in previous years but is now rebuilding capacity. “The impressive results we have been able to achieve in 2025 as an Office have been accomplished with far fewer prosecutors and resources than the Office has experienced in decades,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “This is also true for the caseloads we are handling in our Civil Division. I am proud of the hard work and dedication of our prosecutors in the Civil Division who are handling a heavy docket that is only growing heavier with fewer resources. After an extended government shutdown and many months of a hiring freeze, I am energized by the fact that we are hiring several dozens of new Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Criminal and Civil Divisions in the coming months. Many of our new hires will come with significant experience, including decades of federal and/or state prosecutorial experience from across the country and locally and will be able to hit the ground running,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “I am very much looking forward to onboarding our new tough-on-crime prosecutors who will contribute mightily to the Office in the critically important work we do every day. I am very optimistic about our Office’s future, especially as we add to our already talented roster of attorneys and staff who work diligently every day to make our communities better.”
