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
All of the parolees were men, with a median age of 43. The youngest parolee was a 22-year-old man sentenced in 2025, and the oldest was a 55-year-old man sentenced in 2024.
The offender incarcerated the longest was John K. Hunter. He was convicted in 2009 when he was 37 years old. He is now 53.
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 reincarceration. 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 | 1.7% | 98.3% | 42 |
| Sangamon County | 21 | 0% | 100% | 42 |
| Winnebago County | 11 | 0% | 100% | 48 |
| Lake County | 9 | 0% | 100% | 43 |
| DuPage County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 61 |
| Lasalle County | 3 | 33.3% | 66.7% | 38 |
| Peoria County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 46 |
| Champaign County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 36.5 |
| Vermilion County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 41 |
| Jefferson County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 33.5 |
| Kane County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 43 |
| Pulaski County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 43 |
| Rock Island County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 24 |
| Schuyler County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 24 |
| Shelby County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 35 |
| St. Clair County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 24 |
| Tazewell County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 51 |
| White County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 40 |
| Will County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 39 |
| Woodford County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 29 |
| Moultrie County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 30 |
| Monroe County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 26 |
| Marion County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 39 |
| Macon County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 24 |
| Logan County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 44 |
| Livingston County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 45 |
| Knox County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 39 |
| Iroquois County | 1 | 100% | 0% | 35 |
| Fayette County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 33 |
| Edgar County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 30 |
| DeKalb County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 66 |
| Boone County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 52 |
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