South Cook News

There were 386 offenders convicted of property crimes living in Cook County released on parole during the first quarter of 2024, according to Illinois Department of Corrections data obtained by the South Cook News.

The data shows that 366 men and 20 women were among the parolees. Of the parolees sentenced for property crimes, five were veterans, and the median age was 36. The youngest parolee was a 20-year-old man sentenced in 2023, and the oldest was a 73-year-old man sentenced in 2024.

The offender who had been incarcerated the longest was Marvin Flemings. He was convicted in 1999 when he was 35 years old. He is now 61.

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	386	5.2%	94.8%	36
Macon County	40	2.5%	97.5%	38
Winnebago County	37	8.1%	91.9%	37
Peoria County	33	3%	97%	40
St. Clair County	30	6.7%	93.3%	35.5
Will County	25	4%	96%	37
Madison County	24	4.2%	95.8%	38.5
Kane County	20	5%	95%	44
Lake County	20	10%	90%	39.5
Sangamon County	18	5.6%	94.4%	41.5
DuPage County	14	14.3%	85.7%	37
Tazewell County	13	0%	100%	40
Champaign County	13	7.7%	92.3%	41
Vermilion County	12	8.3%	91.7%	37.5
McLean County	10	10%	90%	35.5
Adams County	10	10%	90%	48.5
Lasalle County	8	12.5%	87.5%	48
Rock Island County	8	12.5%	87.5%	45
Marion County	6	33.3%	66.7%	49
Kankakee County	6	0%	100%	29
Saline County	5	40%	60%	33
Knox County	5	0%	100%	43
Kendall County	5	0%	100%	41
Henry County	5	0%	100%	43
Franklin County	5	20%	80%	26
McHenry County	4	0%	100%	33
Crawford County	4	0%	100%	42
Montgomery County	4	25%	75%	42.5
Macoupin County	4	25%	75%	32.5
Logan County	4	25%	75%	40
Perry County	4	0%	100%	27
Randolph County	4	0%	100%	33
Clinton County	4	25%	75%	32
Jefferson County	4	50%	50%	43
Stephenson County	3	33.3%	66.7%	42
Jackson County	3	0%	100%	32
Lee County	3	33.3%	66.7%	41
Whiteside County	3	66.7%	33.3%	38
DeKalb County	3	0%	100%	25
Morgan County	3	33.3%	66.7%	33
Williamson County	3	0%	100%	27
Shelby County	2	100%	0%	32
Cass County	2	0%	100%	41
White County	2	0%	100%	36
Coles County	2	50%	50%	23.5
Ogle County	2	0%	100%	48
Boone County	2	0%	100%	36.5
Bond County	2	0%	100%	42
Woodford County	2	0%	100%	34.5
Grundy County	2	0%	100%	36.5
Cumberland County	2	0%	100%	33.5
Jersey County	2	50%	50%	37.5
Hancock County	1	0%	100%	61
Henderson County	1	0%	100%	42
Greene County	1	0%	100%	35
Iroquois County	1	100%	0%	39
Jasper County	1	0%	100%	48
Wabash County	1	100%	0%	29
Brown County	1	0%	100%	47
Bureau County	1	0%	100%	35
Carroll County	1	0%	100%	37
Johnson County	1	0%	100%	46
Fulton County	1	100%	0%	54
Clay County	1	100%	0%	46
Ford County	1	0%	100%	50
Richland County	1	0%	100%	40
Effingham County	1	0%	100%	48
Pulaski County	1	0%	100%	40
Pike County	1	0%	100%	53
Edgar County	1	0%	100%	32
Douglas County	1	0%	100%	26
DeWitt County	1	0%	100%	57
Mason County	1	0%	100%	31
McDonough County	1	0%	100%	57