A federal prosecutor who played a central role in former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's trial is leaving to become an Illinois judge.
A U.S. judge overseeing Hastert's case congratulated Carrie Hamilton during a Tuesday status hearing. Her appointment as a Cook County circuit judge takes effect Friday.
Hamilton is also prosecuting former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
Hamilton also helped convict Blagojevich insider Tony Rezko. She opened his 2008 trial by telling jurors he was “the man behind the curtain, pulling the strings.”
She was a trial prosecutor in the case that sent Blagojevich to prison.
Most recently, Hamilton was the deputy chief of the public corruption and organized crime unit at the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago.