In addition to his duties at the Department of Justice, from 1972 to 1976, Valukas was an instructor at the John Marshall Law School.
A Republican, Valukas left the DOJ in 1976 when Jimmy Carter assumed office as President of the United States.
In 1985, President Ronald Reagan appointed Valukas as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
The most notable event of Valukas' four-year term as United States Attorney was Operation Greylord, an investigation into judicial corruption in Cook County, Illinois that ultimately resulted in the indictment of 92 people, including 17 judges.
At the end of his term as United States Attorney, in 1989, Valukas returned to Jenner & Block.