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 on parolee among the parolees were men. The median age of the parolees sentenced for crimes against persons was 36. The youngest parolee was a 29-year-old man sentenced in 2018, and the oldest was a 55-year-old man sentenced in 2023.
The offender who had been incarcerated the longest was Christian J. Ruiz. He was convicted in 2018 when he was 22 years old. He is now 29.
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 | 172 | 10.5% | 89.5% | 35 |
| Macon County | 41 | 2.4% | 97.6% | 36 |
| St. Clair County | 26 | 7.7% | 92.3% | 41 |
| Winnebago County | 23 | 0% | 100% | 38 |
| Peoria County | 19 | 0% | 100% | 37 |
| Sangamon County | 16 | 0% | 100% | 37 |
| Champaign County | 10 | 20% | 80% | 31 |
| Kane County | 10 | 10% | 90% | 32.5 |
| Lake County | 10 | 0% | 100% | 31 |
| Madison County | 8 | 0% | 100% | 31.5 |
| Will County | 7 | 0% | 100% | 45 |
| Lasalle County | 7 | 14.3% | 85.7% | 39 |
| McLean County | 7 | 0% | 100% | 47 |
| DuPage County | 5 | 0% | 100% | 36 |
| Marion County | 5 | 20% | 80% | 41 |
| Schuyler County | 5 | 20% | 80% | 36 |
| Jefferson County | 4 | 25% | 75% | 30 |
| Tazewell County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 30.5 |
| Vermilion County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 31.5 |
| Henry County | 4 | 25% | 75% | 47.5 |
| Adams County | 4 | 25% | 75% | 37.5 |
| Rock Island County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 46 |
| Franklin County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 25 |
| Logan County | 3 | 33.3% | 66.7% | 43 |
| McHenry County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| Pike County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 40 |
| Richland County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 30 |
| Clinton County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 31.5 |
| Coles County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 22.5 |
| Mason County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 34.5 |
| Whiteside County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 31.5 |
| Fayette County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 45 |
| Livingston County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 36 |
| Wayne County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 32.5 |
| Stephenson County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 31 |
| Kankakee County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 30 |
| Williamson County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| White County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 57 |
| Woodford County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 39 |
| Washington County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| Wabash County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 43 |
| Alexander County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 62 |
| Boone County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 30 |
| Crawford County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 38 |
| DeKalb County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 26 |
| Deported County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 40 |
| Effingham County | 1 | 100% | 0% | 35 |
| Fulton County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 32 |
| Hardin County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 42 |
| Iroquois County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 30 |
| Jackson County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 43 |
| Jasper County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 36 |
| Kendall County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 38 |
| Macoupin County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 43 |
| Mercer County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 39 |
| Montgomery County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 42 |
| Morgan County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 30 |
| Piatt County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 27 |
Alerts Sign-up