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 drug crimes was 57. The younger parolee was a 50-year-old man sentenced in 2023, and the oldest was a 64-year-old man sentenced in 2022.
The offender who had been incarcerated the longest was Dewey Couch. He was convicted in 2022 when he was 61 years old. He is now 64.
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 | 117 | 9.4% | 90.6% | 37 |
| Macon County | 23 | 4.3% | 95.7% | 41 |
| Sangamon County | 17 | 5.9% | 94.1% | 38 |
| Peoria County | 17 | 5.9% | 94.1% | 42 |
| Madison County | 16 | 18.8% | 81.3% | 41 |
| Will County | 15 | 20% | 80% | 41 |
| St. Clair County | 15 | 13.3% | 86.7% | 40 |
| Champaign County | 14 | 14.3% | 85.7% | 43.5 |
| Jefferson County | 13 | 7.7% | 92.3% | 48 |
| Lasalle County | 11 | 27.3% | 72.7% | 33 |
| McLean County | 11 | 18.2% | 81.8% | 32 |
| Winnebago County | 11 | 9.1% | 90.9% | 39 |
| Lake County | 10 | 10% | 90% | 32.5 |
| Kane County | 10 | 0% | 100% | 40 |
| Marion County | 9 | 11.1% | 88.9% | 44 |
| Morgan County | 9 | 22.2% | 77.8% | 41 |
| Franklin County | 8 | 50% | 50% | 37.5 |
| McHenry County | 8 | 0% | 100% | 36 |
| Vermilion County | 8 | 12.5% | 87.5% | 36 |
| Adams County | 8 | 50% | 50% | 42.5 |
| DeWitt County | 6 | 33.3% | 66.7% | 42 |
| Livingston County | 5 | 60% | 40% | 33 |
| Fayette County | 5 | 20% | 80% | 45 |
| Union County | 5 | 20% | 80% | 43 |
| Crawford County | 5 | 40% | 60% | 43 |
| Pike County | 5 | 60% | 40% | 31 |
| Henry County | 5 | 20% | 80% | 29 |
| Tazewell County | 5 | 0% | 100% | 42 |
| DuPage County | 5 | 0% | 100% | 29 |
| Lee County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| Macoupin County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 42.5 |
| Jackson County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 27.5 |
| Randolph County | 4 | 50% | 50% | 47 |
| Rock Island County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 36.5 |
| Effingham County | 4 | 25% | 75% | 42 |
| Montgomery County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 42 |
| Clinton County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 33 |
| Fulton County | 3 | 66.7% | 33.3% | 34 |
| Knox County | 3 | 66.7% | 33.3% | 31 |
| Edgar County | 3 | 33.3% | 66.7% | 36 |
| White County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 41 |
| Brown County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 39 |
| Clark County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 56 |
| Moultrie County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 35 |
| Perry County | 2 | 100% | 0% | 37 |
| Piatt County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 37 |
| Richland County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 40.5 |
| Saline County | 2 | 100% | 0% | 31 |
| Shelby County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 45.5 |
| Coles County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 39.5 |
| Logan County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 35.5 |
| Kendall County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 35.5 |
| Kankakee County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 50 |
| Douglas County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 47.5 |
| Johnson County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 44 |
| Whiteside County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 38 |
| Iroquois County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 57 |
| Greene County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 46 |
| Williamson County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 41 |
| Bureau County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 28 |
| Woodford County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 32 |
| Stark County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 36 |
| Bond County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 59 |
| Stephenson County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 32 |
| Washington County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 61 |
| Wabash County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 69 |
| Cass County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 39 |
| Putnam County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 42 |
| Pope County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 31 |
| Christian County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 35 |
| Menard County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 25 |
| Clay County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 31 |
| Cumberland County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 29 |
| DeKalb County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 41 |
| Jersey County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 41 |
| Henderson County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 55 |
| Hamilton County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 69 |
| Gallatin County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| Ford County | 1 | 100% | 0% | 52 |
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