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 both of the released offenders among the parolees were men. The median age of the parolees sentenced for crimes against persons was 34. The younger parolee was a 29-year-old man sentenced in 2022, and the oldest was a 38-year-old man sentenced in 2022.
The offender who had been incarcerated the longest was Melvin R. Townsel. He was convicted in 2022 when he was 36 years old. He is now 38.
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 | 195 | 6.7% | 93.3% | 36 |
| Winnebago County | 38 | 5.3% | 94.7% | 36.5 |
| St. Clair County | 27 | 0% | 100% | 36 |
| Kane County | 23 | 0% | 100% | 33 |
| Macon County | 21 | 4.8% | 95.2% | 41 |
| Lake County | 17 | 0% | 100% | 38 |
| Peoria County | 17 | 17.6% | 82.4% | 37 |
| Champaign County | 14 | 0% | 100% | 40.5 |
| Madison County | 10 | 0% | 100% | 39 |
| Will County | 10 | 20% | 80% | 34.5 |
| DuPage County | 9 | 0% | 100% | 29 |
| Sangamon County | 9 | 0% | 100% | 43 |
| Rock Island County | 8 | 12.5% | 87.5% | 47 |
| McLean County | 7 | 28.6% | 71.4% | 37 |
| Kankakee County | 7 | 0% | 100% | 43 |
| Tazewell County | 5 | 0% | 100% | 29 |
| Whiteside County | 5 | 0% | 100% | 38 |
| Jefferson County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 40 |
| Vermilion County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 31 |
| McHenry County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 49.5 |
| DeKalb County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 44 |
| Randolph County | 3 | 33.3% | 66.7% | 30 |
| Coles County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 49 |
| Logan County | 3 | 33.3% | 66.7% | 38 |
| Knox County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 35 |
| Montgomery County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 37.5 |
| McDonough County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 38 |
| Morgan County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 47 |
| Moultrie County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 40.5 |
| Richland County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 44 |
| Wabash County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 47 |
| Wayne County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 34.5 |
| White County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 29.5 |
| Macoupin County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 52.5 |
| Adams County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 35 |
| Boone County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 33.5 |
| Lee County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 37.5 |
| Lasalle County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 33.5 |
| Kendall County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 31 |
| Jackson County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 30 |
| Franklin County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 25.5 |
| Crawford County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 32.5 |
| Edgar County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 28.5 |
| DeWitt County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| Woodford County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 24 |
| Bureau County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 42 |
| Calhoun County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 54 |
| Christian County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| Clay County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| Stephenson County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 33 |
| Schuyler County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 43 |
| Saline County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 19 |
| Fulton County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 38 |
| Hamilton County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 31 |
| Jo Daviess County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 44 |
| Menard County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 43 |
| Livingston County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 51 |
| Marion County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 41 |
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