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 drug crimes was 34. The youngest parolee was a 26-year-old man sentenced in 2023, and the oldest was a 50-year-old man sentenced in 2022.
The offender who had been incarcerated the longest was Nicholas Bennett. He was convicted in 2023 when he was 25 years old. He is now 26.
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 | 164 | 6.7% | 93.3% | 38 |
| Madison County | 23 | 4.3% | 95.7% | 39 |
| Macon County | 20 | 5% | 95% | 40 |
| McLean County | 17 | 17.6% | 82.4% | 37 |
| St. Clair County | 16 | 31.3% | 68.8% | 38 |
| Winnebago County | 15 | 6.7% | 93.3% | 37 |
| Peoria County | 12 | 16.7% | 83.3% | 40 |
| Sangamon County | 12 | 0% | 100% | 36.5 |
| Lasalle County | 11 | 18.2% | 81.8% | 39 |
| Tazewell County | 11 | 18.2% | 81.8% | 40 |
| Kane County | 10 | 0% | 100% | 27 |
| Marion County | 10 | 20% | 80% | 36.5 |
| Jefferson County | 9 | 22.2% | 77.8% | 37 |
| Will County | 9 | 22.2% | 77.8% | 43 |
| Vermilion County | 9 | 11.1% | 88.9% | 40 |
| Christian County | 8 | 37.5% | 62.5% | 33.5 |
| Champaign County | 8 | 12.5% | 87.5% | 41.5 |
| Lake County | 8 | 12.5% | 87.5% | 37 |
| Franklin County | 7 | 14.3% | 85.7% | 43 |
| McHenry County | 7 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| Rock Island County | 7 | 14.3% | 85.7% | 42 |
| Pike County | 7 | 57.1% | 42.9% | 37 |
| Coles County | 7 | 0% | 100% | 37 |
| Dupage County | 7 | 0% | 100% | 39 |
| Adams County | 6 | 16.7% | 83.3% | 41.5 |
| Morgan County | 6 | 33.3% | 66.7% | 41 |
| Randolph County | 6 | 66.7% | 33.3% | 37.5 |
| Fayette County | 5 | 0% | 100% | 43 |
| Kendall County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 40 |
| Crawford County | 4 | 75% | 25% | 44 |
| Douglas County | 4 | 50% | 50% | 34 |
| Williamson County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 37 |
| White County | 4 | 25% | 75% | 47.5 |
| DeKalb County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| Effingham County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 53 |
| Jersey County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 51 |
| Edgar County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 36 |
| Kankakee County | 3 | 33.3% | 66.7% | 44 |
| Shelby County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 32 |
| Lawrence County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 25 |
| Mason County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 37.5 |
| Massac County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 45.5 |
| Boone County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 33.5 |
| Bond County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 46.5 |
| Ogle County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 35.5 |
| Greene County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 42 |
| Clay County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 30.5 |
| Wayne County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 40 |
| Stephenson County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 52 |
| Henry County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 32.5 |
| Knox County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 42.5 |
| Jackson County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 43 |
| Pulaski County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 42 |
| Woodford County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 52 |
| Warren County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 26 |
| Putnam County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 43 |
| Wabash County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 33 |
| Richland County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 29 |
| Saline County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 51 |
| Union County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 29 |
| Alexander County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 37 |
| Carroll County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 42 |
| Clark County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 55 |
| Cumberland County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 35 |
| DeWitt County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 53 |
| Ford County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 63 |
| Fulton County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 51 |
| Hardin County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 43 |
| Henderson County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 24 |
| Iroquois County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| Jasper County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 44 |
| Livingston County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 38 |
| Logan County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 26 |
| Macoupin County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 27 |
| Marshall County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 41 |
| McDonough County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 33 |
| Menard County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 49 |
| Mercer County | 1 | 100% | 0% | 42 |
| Monroe County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 66 |
| Montgomery County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 47 |
| Piatt County | 1 | 100% | 0% | 39 |
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