Trump Loyalist "Under Consideration" for U.S. Attorney Position with Few Applicants
Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Peoria) is leading interviews for a new U.S. Attorney in the Central District of Illinois.
NOTE: This story was originally posted for subscribers only. To receive subscriber-only newsletters and content, click here.
A former state campaign chairman for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, who once had his law license suspended for a year, is apparently in the running to be the new United States Attorney for Central Illinois.
Kent Gray of Springfield, a longtime fixture in Springfield politics, confirms to The Illinoize he had interviewed to become U.S. Attorney with Congressman Darin LaHood (R-Peoria) and Congresswoman Mary Miller (R-Hindsboro.)
U.S. Attorney recommendations are typically made by U.S. senators, but because Illinois has two Democrat senators, LaHood is taking the lead on making recommendations to the Trump administration.
“I interviewed with both Congressmen LaHood and Miller, at their request,” Gray told The Illinoize. “I thought it went extremely well, and that seems borne out by both the White House and Department of Justice following up about U.S. Attorney.”
LaHood’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Multiple sources say there have not been many applicants for the job, partly due to concern that by the time a nominee is chosen and confirmed by the Senate, they won’t have a significant amount of time to perform the job.
Gray was the Illinois State Director for Trump’s first campaign and attempted to run for Congress in 2020, but failed to gather enough signatures to stay on the ballot. He ran for State Representative in 2022, but lost a primary to incumbent Rep. Tim Butler.
Gray had his law license suspended for a year in 2018, according to the State Journal-Register:
The suspension came at the recommendation of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
“In his own divorce case, Mr. Gray intentionally failed to comply with discovery orders requiring him to turn over his income tax returns and then made false statements to the court and opposing counsel about the existence of the returns,” according to the ARDC. “In addition, he engaged in the unauthorized practice of law by representing two villages after he had been removed from the Master Roll of Attorneys for failing to register and pay the annual registration fee.”
At a March 2017 before an ARDC hearing board, Gray denied the allegation about tax returns, blaming an IRS computer problem.
Gray had also said that he did pay the annual registration fee late in 2015, but didn’t know he was removed from the attorney roll for a time until the ARDC added an allegation about that issue to his case.
An ARDC official said at the hearing that Gray had “obstructed every effort to obtain verified documents from the IRS,” including invoking the 5th Amendment protection against self-incrimination. The official also said that while Gray had been quoted as saying “the system is a joke” because of the alleged lack of notification when an attorney is removed from the roll, Gray had been sent emails and letters requesting payment before he was removed.
Gray said there shouldn’t be any concern about his prior troubles, and hoped he would have the opportunity to tell his side of the story to the U.S. Senate.
“I have always maintained my innocence in the ARDC case,” Gray said. “I absolutely was honest with the judge, requested the documents as ordered, and received them from the IRS. The ARDC refused to allow my evidence to be admitted, in what I think was an early lawfare attack on me as a prominent Trump official. They had a plan to take me down, and they bent their rules to penalize me for supporting Trump.”
We’re told at least two other candidates performed better than Gray in interviews with LaHood and Gray’s wasn’t expected to be forwarded to the White House. But our sources did not reveal the names of the other candidates.
The U.S. Attorney for central Illinois during Trump’s first term, John Milhiser, confirmed to The Illinoize Monday he plans to remain as Sangamon County State’s Attorney and won’t seek to return to the job. He was appointed to return to the office in late 2023 and was re-elected last year.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Attorney’s office for Chicago has been filled by interim USA Andrew Boutros. In the Southern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Steven Weinhoeft, who served at the end of Trump’s first term, was re-appointed to the job in March.
