Local U.S. attorney deals with government shutdown, partisan message on website
U.S. Attorney Steve Weinhoeft is not only dealing with a 35% staff reduction due to the federal government shutdown, but also questions about a blatantly partisan message across the top of his webpage.
The message appears on U.S. attorney webpages across the country, including the one for the Southern District of Illinois.
“Democrats have shut down the government,” it reads. “Department of Justice websites are not currently regularly updated.”
In an interview Thursday, Weinhoeft said his office didn’t post the message. He referred questions to public affairs personnel at U.S. Department of Justice headquarters.
Weinhoeft has worked as a prosecutor in the Southern District of Illinois for more than 17 years under Republican and Democrat administrations. He served as court-appointed U.S. attorney from 2018-2022 and was reappointed in February by Pam Bondi, attorney general for President Donald Trump.
“The Department of Justice has a long and proud history of political independence, and we (in the local office) absolutely work in a non-partisan way,” Weinhoeft said.
As of Thursday afternoon, more than a third of the federal government’s 15 cabinet-level departments had posted partisan messages about the shutdown on their websites. Some went a step further and referred to Democrats as “left-wing” or “radical.”
“Due to the Radical Left Democrat shutdown, this government website will not be updated during the funding lapse,” read a message on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s homepage.
“President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people.”
Partisan messages regarding the shutdown also appeared on homepages for the U.S. Departments of State, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development and Health and Human Services.
Some government ethics experts argue that the messages violate the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that limits certain political activities of federal employees and others involved with federal programs.
“Even for an administration that flouts ethics guidelines regularly, these messages are a particularly egregious and clear-cut sign that Trump and his cabinet see themselves as above the law,” said Craig Holman, of the advocacy group Public Citizen.
The shutdown began on Wednesday after Congress failed to pass a new spending bill. That was largely due to a disagreement between Democrats and Republicans over the latter’s proposed cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies.
During such shutdowns, the Antideficiency Act prohibits spending of non-appropriated funds unless they’re needed to protect human life or property or otherwise authorized by statute.
About 35% of attorneys and other employees in the prosecutor’s office for the Southern District of Illinois were furloughed Wednesday due to the shutdown, according to Weinhoeft.
“It’s significant,” he said. “But I do want to say very clearly and make a point of the fact that all of our essential work related to public safety is absolutely being handled.
“Anybody who has responsibility for a case that in any way, shape or form affects violent crime or public safety is able to do their work.”
Weinhoeft likened the office to a hospital in “triage” mode. Attorneys are filing motions to postpone civil cases and prioritizing criminal cases, particularly those that involve national security, drug cartels or incarcerated defendants who have a right to a speedy trial.
Weinhoeft said the prosecutor’s office was already dealing with a 23% drop in employees due to early retirements this year. It now has 72 employees. The furloughs will affect about 25 of them.
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
