Top assistant Jim Porter named acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois

Longtime top assistant Jim Porter has been named the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.

Porter, 63, of Millstadt, said Monday that he’s hopeful of being appointed to the position permanently.

“Like any person, I’d like the opportunity to run things for myself,” Porter said.

Porter said he automatically was named the acting U.S. Attorney by law when his predecessor, Steve Wigginton, left the job earlier this month for another position in the private sector. The Department of Justice has 210 days under the law to name a permanent U.S. Attorney for the district.

“I have no information from the DOJ about what the plans are” for filling the job permanently, Porter said. “I was only told that I was appointed. Right now I think they’re more concerned about whether we’ll have a budget Wednesday. They’ll probably get around to everything else after the holidays.”

Porter has worked in the Southern District for about 28 years. He said, like many folks in the region, his family was in the Air Force and his father moved here when he was a young child.

“I was a little under 5 when we came here, and I’ve been here ever since,” Porter said.

When asked about his goals during his tenure as leader of the office, Porter said he plans to stay the course.

“We’re going to keep doing all the good things we’ve been doing and keep defending the United States,” Porter said. “I feel if I can do half as well as Steve Wigginton did, this office is going to be just fine.”

This story was originally published December 14, 2015 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Top assistant Jim Porter named acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois."