DeKalb Times

There were seven offenders convicted of property crimes living in DeKalb County released on parole during the second quarter of 2023, according to Illinois Department of Corrections data obtained by the DeKalb Times.

The data shows that six men and one woman were among the parolees. The median age of the parolees sentenced for property crimes was 41. The youngest parolee was a 24-year-old man sentenced in 2021, and the oldest was a 61-year-old man sentenced in 2015.

The offender who had been incarcerated the longest was Gwendell Stewart. He was convicted in 2015 when he was 51 years old. He is now 61.

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	385	4.9%	95.1%	35
St. Clair County	38	10.5%	89.5%	42
Kane County	24	4.2%	95.8%	37
Winnebago County	23	30.4%	69.6%	48
Macon County	22	9.1%	90.9%	34.5
Madison County	21	19%	81%	36
Peoria County	21	0%	100%	43
Will County	14	0%	100%	35
Sangamon County	11	18.2%	81.8%	42
Rock Island County	11	18.2%	81.8%	34
Lake County	10	0%	100%	32.5
Tazewell County	9	22.2%	77.8%	49
Vermilion County	8	12.5%	87.5%	42.5
Champaign County	8	0%	100%	39
DeKalb County	7	14.3%	85.7%	41
Dupage County	7	14.3%	85.7%	38
Kankakee County	7	0%	100%	43
Lasalle County	7	14.3%	85.7%	30
McHenry County	6	33.3%	66.7%	36.5
Jefferson County	6	16.7%	83.3%	38.5
Williamson County	5	0%	100%	33
Jackson County	5	0%	100%	34
Adams County	4	0%	100%	40.5
Macoupin County	4	25%	75%	35.5
Whiteside County	4	0%	100%	48.5
Marion County	4	25%	75%	29
McLean County	4	0%	100%	33.5
Randolph County	4	25%	75%	30
Christian County	4	25%	75%	38
Edgar County	4	0%	100%	34
Fayette County	4	0%	100%	35
Franklin County	4	50%	50%	53
Kendall County	4	0%	100%	59
Bond County	3	0%	100%	33
Knox County	3	0%	100%	62
Union County	3	33.3%	66.7%	38
Coles County	3	0%	100%	43
Morgan County	3	33.3%	66.7%	47
Monroe County	3	0%	100%	38
Livingston County	3	0%	100%	41
Logan County	2	50%	50%	42
White County	2	100%	0%	41
Montgomery County	2	0%	100%	51
Piatt County	2	0%	100%	49
Stephenson County	2	0%	100%	36.5
Crawford County	2	50%	50%	33.5
Fulton County	2	0%	100%	36.5
Shelby County	2	0%	100%	34
Boone County	1	0%	100%	41
Cass County	1	0%	100%	32
Washington County	1	0%	100%	34
Henry County	1	0%	100%	44
Hamilton County	1	0%	100%	28
Clinton County	1	100%	0%	27
Schuyler County	1	0%	100%	63
DeWitt County	1	0%	100%	40
Richland County	1	0%	100%	57
Jersey County	1	0%	100%	31
Effingham County	1	0%	100%	27
Lawrence County	1	0%	100%	44
Mason County	1	0%	100%	50
Mercer County	1	0%	100%	36
Jasper County	1	0%	100%	39
Ford County	1	0%	100%	30
Massac County	1	0%	100%	42