South Central Reporter

There were two offenders convicted of property crimes living in Bond County released on parole during the first quarter of 2023, according to Illinois Department of Corrections data obtained by the South Central Reporter.

The data shows that both of the released offenders among the parolees were men. The median age of the parolees sentenced for property crimes was 38. The younger parolee was a 29-year-old man sentenced in 2022, and the oldest was a 47-year-old man sentenced in 2021.

The offender who had been incarcerated the longest was Bryon J. Richards. He was convicted in 2021 when he was 44 years old. He is now 47.

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	330	4.2%	95.8%	37
Will County	22	0%	100%	33.5
Winnebago County	22	4.5%	95.5%	35
St. Clair County	21	19%	81%	37
Madison County	19	10.5%	89.5%	30
Peoria County	19	10.5%	89.5%	35
Kane County	17	5.9%	94.1%	31
Dupage County	17	17.6%	82.4%	41
Lake County	15	6.7%	93.3%	33
Macon County	13	7.7%	92.3%	43
Sangamon County	13	15.4%	84.6%	36
Vermilion County	12	16.7%	83.3%	39
Jackson County	9	22.2%	77.8%	43
McHenry County	8	37.5%	62.5%	31
Champaign County	8	0%	100%	31.5
Kankakee County	6	0%	100%	34
Franklin County	6	33.3%	66.7%	33
Tazewell County	6	16.7%	83.3%	36.5
Rock Island County	5	60%	40%	33
Marion County	5	20%	80%	34
McLean County	5	0%	100%	28
Lasalle County	5	40%	60%	41
Henry County	5	0%	100%	37
Adams County	5	0%	100%	40
Whiteside County	5	20%	80%	29
Morgan County	4	0%	100%	46.5
Christian County	4	25%	75%	38
Macoupin County	4	25%	75%	39
Montgomery County	3	0%	100%	40
Saline County	3	33.3%	66.7%	48
Boone County	3	0%	100%	61
Williamson County	3	0%	100%	46
DeKalb County	3	0%	100%	36
Edgar County	3	0%	100%	31
Livingston County	3	0%	100%	34
Knox County	3	0%	100%	37
Kendall County	3	0%	100%	37
Fayette County	3	0%	100%	43
Grundy County	3	0%	100%	29
Lawrence County	2	0%	100%	43.5
Bond County	2	0%	100%	38
Monroe County	2	0%	100%	40.5
Moultrie County	2	50%	50%	45.5
Alexander County	2	0%	100%	45.5
Jefferson County	2	0%	100%	31.5
Stephenson County	1	0%	100%	29
Warren County	1	0%	100%	46
Woodford County	1	0%	100%	46
Wabash County	1	0%	100%	53
Perry County	1	0%	100%	48
Ogle County	1	0%	100%	39
Menard County	1	0%	100%	38
McDonough County	1	0%	100%	42
Marshall County	1	0%	100%	36
Lee County	1	0%	100%	36
Jersey County	1	0%	100%	36
Iroquois County	1	0%	100%	40
Hancock County	1	0%	100%	36
Effingham County	1	0%	100%	55
Edwards County	1	0%	100%	33
Douglas County	1	0%	100%	42
Crawford County	1	0%	100%	41
Coles County	1	0%	100%	32
Clinton County	1	0%	100%	41