CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 05: Security fencing surrounds the Dirksen federal courthouse as the city braces for possible unrest following the Trump administration's threat of a surge in immigration enforcement in ... CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 05: Security fencing surrounds the Dirksen federal courthouse as the city braces for possible unrest following the Trump administration's threat of a surge in immigration enforcement in the city on September 05, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. The threat has already caused the cancelation or postponement of festivities surrounding Mexican Independence Day celebrations in Chicago and surrounding communities. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) MORE LESS

Today Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth called on Chicago U.S. attorney Andrew Boutros to resign charging that his office is adrift in chaos and official misconduct. 

On the one hand this is unsurprising. This is a major and growing scandal. It implicates a Republican president. They’re Democrats. And the office has been at the leading edge of policies (Midway Blitz, mass deportation generally) that are deeply unpopular — certainly in Chicago and to varying degrees across the state. So, as I note, to some agree it’s a predictable development. 

But there are some additional threads I want to remind you of. 

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