Justin Hammers, Chief of Operations at IDOC | Illinois Department of Corrections oficial website
Justin Hammers, Chief of Operations at IDOC | Illinois Department of Corrections oficial website
The data shows that all of the released offenders among the parolees were men. The median age of the parolees sentenced for property crimes was 37. The youngest parolee was a 23-year-old man sentenced in 2021, and the oldest was a 50-year-old man sentenced in 2021.
The offender who had been incarcerated the longest was John E. Edwards. He was convicted in 2013 when he was 35 years old. He is now 47.
Commonly referred to as parole in Illinois, Mandatory Supervised Release (MSR) is a post-prison supervision period, in which individuals must follow specific rules like check-ins with parole officers; violations can lead to re-incarceration. Unlike parole, MSR is automatically required for all individuals released after serving a prison sentence.
In 2023, Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill to reform Illinois’ Mandatory Supervised Release program. The law aims to reduce recidivism and reportedly create a more effective and equitable supervision system by incentivizing education, streamlining the review process, and expanding virtual check-ins.
“Our current supervision system too often operates unfairly, with rules that make it simply a revolving door back to jail,” Pritzker said at a bill signing ceremony in Chicago. “In fact, more than 25% of people who are released from prison in Illinois end up back behind bars, not because they’re recidivists, but instead for a noncriminal technical violation.”
A 2018 report from the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council indicated that 43% of released prisoners in Illinois return to prison within three years, costing taxpayers an estimated $152,000 per recidivism event.
| County | Total Number of Parolees | % Women | % Men | Median age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County | 387 | 4.1% | 95.9% | 38 |
| Macon County | 32 | 0% | 100% | 36.5 |
| Madison County | 28 | 0% | 100% | 40 |
| St. Clair County | 27 | 3.7% | 96.3% | 40 |
| Kane County | 24 | 16.7% | 83.3% | 40.5 |
| Winnebago County | 22 | 9.1% | 90.9% | 36 |
| Peoria County | 21 | 9.5% | 90.5% | 36 |
| Lake County | 17 | 17.6% | 82.4% | 32 |
| Will County | 16 | 0% | 100% | 37 |
| Dupage County | 16 | 6.3% | 93.8% | 33.5 |
| Sangamon County | 13 | 15.4% | 84.6% | 41 |
| McHenry County | 11 | 0% | 100% | 36 |
| Rock Island County | 11 | 0% | 100% | 35 |
| McLean County | 9 | 11.1% | 88.9% | 38 |
| Kankakee County | 8 | 25% | 75% | 36.5 |
| Champaign County | 8 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| Adams County | 7 | 14.3% | 85.7% | 42 |
| Saline County | 6 | 50% | 50% | 40 |
| Marion County | 6 | 16.7% | 83.3% | 46 |
| Tazewell County | 6 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| Vermilion County | 6 | 0% | 100% | 37 |
| Lasalle County | 6 | 33.3% | 66.7% | 39 |
| Clinton County | 5 | 0% | 100% | 36 |
| Williamson County | 5 | 60% | 40% | 35 |
| Jefferson County | 5 | 40% | 60% | 36 |
| Jackson County | 4 | 25% | 75% | 35 |
| Franklin County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 48 |
| Randolph County | 4 | 25% | 75% | 37 |
| Woodford County | 4 | 25% | 75% | 27.5 |
| Fulton County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 47.5 |
| DeKalb County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 27 |
| Coles County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 30 |
| Henry County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 32.5 |
| Clark County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 43 |
| Stephenson County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 60 |
| Knox County | 3 | 33.3% | 66.7% | 30 |
| Morgan County | 3 | 33.3% | 66.7% | 47 |
| Effingham County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 36 |
| Macoupin County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 32 |
| Shelby County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 49 |
| Crawford County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 42 |
| Pike County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 38.5 |
| DeWitt County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 46 |
| Alexander County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 32.5 |
| Montgomery County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 28 |
| Jersey County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 29.5 |
| Grundy County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 29.5 |
| Greene County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 45.5 |
| Lee County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 32.5 |
| Livingston County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 33 |
| Calhoun County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 27 |
| Bureau County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 45 |
| White County | 1 | 100% | 0% | 38 |
| Cass County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 53 |
| Union County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 40 |
| Bond County | 1 | 100% | 0% | 41 |
| Christian County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 33 |
| Henderson County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 37 |
| Jasper County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 36 |
| Iroquois County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 37 |
| Hardin County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 65 |
| Clay County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 37 |
| Jo Daviess County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 28 |
| Richland County | 1 | 100% | 0% | 26 |
| Hamilton County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 26 |
| Putnam County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| Piatt County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 44 |
| Perry County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 44 |
| Kendall County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 38 |
| Lawrence County | 1 | 100% | 0% | 23 |
| Mercer County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 38 |
| Edgar County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 40 |
| McDonough County | 1 | 100% | 0% | 38 |
| Marshall County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 40 |
| Fayette County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 28 |
| Ford County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 40 |
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