THE WHITE HOUSE

                       Office of the Press Secretary
                          (New Orleans, Louisiana)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                      July 20, 1998

                           PRESIDENT CLINTON 
          NAMES SCOTT RICHARD LASSAR AS UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 
                  FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

The President today announced his intent to nominate Scott Richard Lassar to serve as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

Mr. Scott Richard Lassar, of Highland Park, Illinois, has been serving as Interim United States Attorney since August 1997. Mr. Lassar joined the United States Attorney's office in Chicago in 1975, as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Special Prosecutions Division. From 1981 to 1986, he served as the Deputy Chief of the Special Prosecutions Division, where his work included investigations and trials of complex financial crimes cases and matters involving political and judicial corruption. From 1986 to 1993, Mr. Lassar was a partner in a Chicago law firm, where his practice consisted of commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense. He specialized in accountant malpractice and commodity and securities litigation. In 1993, Mr. Lassar rejoined the United States Attorney's office as its First Assistant.

Mr. Lassar is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, and the Chicago Council of Lawyers. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1972, from Oberlin College, and his law degree in 1975, from Northwestern University School of Law.

United States Attorneys are the chief federal prosecutors and law enforcement officers for the 94 federal judicial districts. They have principal responsibility for the prosecution of federal matters in their district.

-30-30-30-