Alyssa Williams, Assistant Director at IDOC | Illinois Department of Corrections oficial website
Alyssa Williams, Assistant Director at IDOC | Illinois Department of Corrections oficial website
The data shows that 57 men and four women were among the parolees. Of the parolees sentenced for homicide, one was a veteran, and the median age was 46. The youngest parolee was a 24-year-old man sentenced in 2023, and the oldest was a 79-year-old man sentenced in 1983.
The offender who had been incarcerated the longest was James E. Baker. He was convicted in 1975 when he was 24 years old. He is now 73.
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 | 61 | 6.6% | 93.4% | 46 |
| Peoria County | 6 | 0% | 100% | 52 |
| St. Clair County | 4 | 25% | 75% | 43.5 |
| Winnebago County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 49 |
| Kane County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 54.5 |
| Henry County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 40 |
| Sangamon County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 57.5 |
| Will County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 49 |
| Kankakee County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 37 |
| Lake County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 58 |
| Macon County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 53 |
| McHenry County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 78 |
| McLean County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 52 |
| Perry County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 61 |
| Franklin County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 50 |
| Stephenson County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 48 |
| Tazewell County | 1 | 100% | 0% | 63 |
| Effingham County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 41 |
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