--- description: Asked to resign by Trump, Chicago’s top prosecutor calls for far-reaching reforms in a searing open letter. title: U.S. Attorney Dismissed by Trump Pens 'Unshackled' Criticism image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfdc722e14cbaea2d/6988be9b8fd2eea0ec35629a/gettyimages-652955002.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Justice Department](/tag/justice-department/) ## Justice Department Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Read the Searing Full Text of the Open Letter Written by a U.S. Attorney Dismissed by Trump by [Ryan Kilpatrick](/author/ryan-kilpatrick/) ## Ryan Kilpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 16, 2017 7:53 AM CUT  Zachary Fardon with Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson on Feb. 10, 2017. Zachary Fardon with Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson on Feb. 10, 2017.Chicago Tribune—TNS via Getty Images by [Ryan Kilpatrick](/author/ryan-kilpatrick/) ## Ryan Kilpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 16, 2017 7:53 AM CUT Recently asked to resign by the administration of President Donald Trump, Chicago’s onetime top prosecutor Zachary Fardon has called for far-reaching reforms of the city’s justice system to fight endemic gun violence. In a five-page open letter released on Monday, the former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois condemned inaction from municipal authorities, the local police department’s lack of professionalism, and the failure of federal law enforcement agencies to coordinate on addressing the city’s recent murder spike. Chicago’s murders jumped nearly 60% in 2016, leaving more than 760 people dead and thousands more injured. Fardon, who said he was now “unshackled by the diplomatic constraints” of his position, suggested that up to 20 new federal prosecutors be assigned to Chicago immediately to help with gang and gun-related prosecutions. Referring to Chicago as a city “on fire,” Fardon said the city’s gangs filled the void created by “hopelessness.” Referencing Trump’s “send in the Feds!” tweet, Fardon also called on the government to “send in the tech geeks” to curb gang members’ use of social media. Deploying the National Guard, he warned, would tell city residents: “This is war, and you are the enemy.” Read the full text of his letter [here](https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3516525/03132017-Untitled-NOTSET.pdf "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4703254/attorney-zachary-fardon-open-letter-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4703254/attorney-zachary-fardon-open-letter-trump/"},"headline":"Read the Searing Full Text of the Open Letter Written by a U.S. Attorney Dismissed by Trump","datePublished":"2017-03-16T07:53:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:51:52.755Z","description":"Zachary Fardon says he is now “unshackled by the diplomatic constraints\" of his position","url":"https://time.com/4703254/attorney-zachary-fardon-open-letter-trump/","keywords":["Justice Department","Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfdc722e14cbaea2d/6988be9b8fd2eea0ec35629a/gettyimages-652955002.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Kilpatrick","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-kilpatrick/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfdc722e14cbaea2d/6988be9b8fd2eea0ec35629a/gettyimages-652955002.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Zachary Fardon steps down as US attorney in Chicago","caption":"Zachary Fardon steps down as US attorney in Chicago","creditText":"Chicago Tribune—TNS via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/justice-department/","name":"Justice Department"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4703254/attorney-zachary-fardon-open-letter-trump/","name":"Read the Searing Full Text of the Open Letter Written by a U.S. Attorney Dismissed by Trump"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Justice Department Releases Scathing Report on Chicago Police Department Abuses","description":"Institutional problems within the Chicago Police Department have led to serious civil rights violations for years, including racial bias against blacks and a tendency to use excessive force, according to a U.S. Department of Justice report.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/GwzSkxZM/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-01-13T18:38:46.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GwzSkxZM.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4703254/attorney-zachary-fardon-open-letter-trump/","duration":"PT1M22S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4703254/attorney-zachary-fardon-open-letter-trump/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```