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
Of the parolees, one was a man and two were women, with a median age of 27. The youngest parolee was a 23-year-old woman sentenced in 2024, and the oldest was a 56-year-old man sentenced in 2022.
The offender incarcerated the longest was Michaela Herpstreith. She was convicted in 2021 when she was 23 years old. She is now 27.
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 | 825 | 4.5% | 95.5% | 33 |
| Macon County | 67 | 1.5% | 98.5% | 34 |
| Winnebago County | 61 | 8.2% | 91.8% | 34 |
| Peoria County | 53 | 5.7% | 94.3% | 35 |
| Will County | 51 | 0% | 100% | 33 |
| St. Clair County | 47 | 14.9% | 85.1% | 35 |
| Lake County | 37 | 5.4% | 94.6% | 35 |
| Kane County | 31 | 6.5% | 93.5% | 33 |
| Champaign County | 28 | 3.6% | 96.4% | 33 |
| Madison County | 27 | 11.1% | 88.9% | 37 |
| McLean County | 26 | 11.5% | 88.5% | 38 |
| DuPage County | 25 | 4% | 96% | 35 |
| Sangamon County | 24 | 0% | 100% | 30 |
| Kankakee County | 14 | 7.1% | 92.9% | 27.5 |
| DeKalb County | 12 | 0% | 100% | 33 |
| Vermilion County | 11 | 9.1% | 90.9% | 25 |
| McHenry County | 10 | 0% | 100% | 43.5 |
| Rock Island County | 8 | 0% | 100% | 37 |
| Jefferson County | 7 | 14.3% | 85.7% | 30 |
| Tazewell County | 7 | 0% | 100% | 31 |
| Kendall County | 6 | 0% | 100% | 32 |
| Lasalle County | 6 | 0% | 100% | 32 |
| Adams County | 6 | 16.7% | 83.3% | 29 |
| Knox County | 5 | 0% | 100% | 30 |
| Stephenson County | 5 | 0% | 100% | 40 |
| Marion County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 30 |
| Henry County | 4 | 25% | 75% | 30.5 |
| Williamson County | 4 | 0% | 100% | 35.5 |
| Livingston County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 41 |
| Morgan County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 31 |
| Pike County | 3 | 33.3% | 66.7% | 41 |
| Coles County | 3 | 66.7% | 33.3% | 27 |
| Boone County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 46 |
| Bureau County | 3 | 33.3% | 66.7% | 35 |
| DeWitt County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 41 |
| Douglas County | 3 | 0% | 100% | 29 |
| Randolph County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 50 |
| Saline County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 40.5 |
| Ogle County | 2 | 50% | 50% | 30 |
| Clark County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 41 |
| Monroe County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 31 |
| Christian County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 37 |
| Union County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 50.5 |
| Fayette County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 45.5 |
| Franklin County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 32 |
| Macoupin County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 37.5 |
| Logan County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 55 |
| Hamilton County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 49 |
| White County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 35 |
| Whiteside County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 40.5 |
| Jersey County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 38.5 |
| Woodford County | 2 | 0% | 100% | 47 |
| Carroll County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 36 |
| Wabash County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 48 |
| Clay County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 28 |
| Shelby County | 1 | 100% | 0% | 40 |
| Schuyler County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 45 |
| Clinton County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 54 |
| Bond County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 38 |
| Johnson County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| Jackson County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 49 |
| Iroquois County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 52 |
| Hancock County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 37 |
| Lawrence County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 21 |
| Lee County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 29 |
| Grundy County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 25 |
| Greene County | 1 | 100% | 0% | 37 |
| Effingham County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 38 |
| Mercer County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 40 |
| Montgomery County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 28 |
| Moultrie County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 55 |
| Perry County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 22 |
| Piatt County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 34 |
| Crawford County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 52 |
| Pulaski County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 24 |
| Richland County | 1 | 0% | 100% | 30 |
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