04.24.24

Durbin, Duckworth Applaud Nomination of April Perry to be Federal District Court Judge in the Northern District of Illinois

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after the White House announced its intent to nominate April Perry to be a Federal District Court Judge in the Northern District of Illinois:

“We are pleased that President Biden is nominating April Perry to be a Federal District Court Judge in the Northern District of Illinois.  She brings strong qualifications and a wealth of experience from her time in both the private sector and as a federal prosecutor in the Northern District of Illinois for over a decade.  We look forward to supporting her nomination for this lifetime appointment in the Senate.”

Previously, April Perry was nominated by President Biden—at the recommendation of Durbin and Duckworth—to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.  Her nomination advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2023.  However, her nomination has been held up in the full Senate by Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) because he wants to “grind the Department of Justice to a halt.”  Durbin attempted to confirm Ms. Perry by unanimous consent numerous times on the Senate floor, but was objected to by Senator Vance each time.

Once the President submits a nomination to the U.S. Senate, it will be reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Durbin is the Chair, and the nominee will ultimately receive a vote in the Committee.  If the nomination is approved by the Judiciary Committee, the nominee will receive a vote by the full Senate.

Ms. Perry’s biography from the White House is below:

April Perry has been Senior Counsel of Global Investigations and Fraud and Abuse Prevention at GE HealthCare since 2022.  She was previously the General Counsel at Ubiety Technologies from 2019 to 2022.  From 2017 to 2019, Ms. Perry served as the Chief Deputy State’s Attorney and Chief Ethics Officer for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.  She also worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois from 2004 to 2016.  Ms. Perry served as a law clerk for Judge Joel M. Flaum on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 2003 to 2004.  She received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Northwestern University School of Law in 2003 and her B.S., magna cum laude, from Northwestern University in 2000.

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