EAST ST. LOUIS, ILL. (AP) -- A partner in a Belleville law firm who once served as a part-time Madison County prosecutor is now at work as the top federal prosecutor for southern Illinois.

Forty-seven-year-old Stephen Wigginton was sworn in Friday as U.S. attorney for the 38 counties comprising the southern Illinois district.

President Barack Obama nominated Wigginton for the post in April, and the Senate signed off on the selection earlier this month.

Wigginton succeeded A. Courtney Cox, who had been U.S. attorney in southern Illinois since 2007.

Wigginton is an East St. Louis native who graduated from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville's business school and Saint Louis University's law school.

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