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Conrad Black prosecutor gets promotion in Chicago

A prosecutor who helped convict Canadian media mogul Conrad Black and other high-profile figures is the new head of the criminal division at Chicago's U.S. attorney's office.

The office announced Julie B. Porter's appointment Tuesday.

The announcement comes as the new U.S. attorney for northern Illinois, Zachary Fardon, makes various structural changes. He has faced pressure to find more ways his office can help stem street-level violence in Chicago.

As division chief, Porter now oversees about 120 of the office's 152 prosecutors. And the 41-year-old becomes the third in command of criminal prosecutions, after Fardon and First Assistant Gary Shapiro.

In 2011, she helped convict Illinois powerbroker William Cellini for trying to shake down a Hollywood producer for a contribution to then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich's campaign.

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