The data shows that 6,566 men and 407 women were released in Chicago. Of the parolees, 56 were veterans, and the median age was 36. The youngest parolee was a 19-year-old man sentenced for a crime involving one or more weapons in 2018, and the oldest was a 78-year-old man sentenced for a financial crime or fraud in 2018.
The offender who had been incarcerated the longest was Charles Smith. He was convicted of homicide in 1972 when he was 25 years old. He is now 73.
Under state law, paroled offenders are still in legal custody of the IDOC, meaning they can be taken back to a correctional center at any time if the state has probable cause or a warrant.
The table below shows the 50 cities in Illinois with the most paroled offenders in 2018.
City
Counties
Total 2018 Parolees
% convicted for sex crimes
% convicted for homicide
% convicted for drug-related crimes
Chicago
Cook
6,973
0.4%
2.7%
30.1%
Rockford
Winnebago
500
1.8%
2.6%
17.8%
Joliet
Will
349
0.9%
1.7%
26.1%
Springfield
Sangamon
340
1.5%
1.2%
26.2%
Decatur
Macon
339
1.2%
0.9%
23%
Peoria
Peoria
304
2%
1.6%
26%
East Saint Louis
St. Clair
246
1.6%
4.5%
20.7%
Aurora
Kane, Dupage, Will
217
1.8%
2.3%
29.5%
Chicago Heights
Cook
176
1.1%
6.3%
22.2%
Waukegan
Lake
166
0%
1.8%
22.3%
Harvey
Cook
164
1.2%
4.9%
20.7%
Calumet City
Cook
148
0.7%
0.7%
21.6%
Kankakee
Kankakee
148
4.7%
2%
18.2%
Elgin
Cook, Kane
146
0.7%
2.1%
24.7%
Blue Island
Cook
130
0%
1.5%
29.2%
Champaign
Champaign
128
0%
1.6%
21.1%
Danville
Vermilion
127
3.9%
1.6%
22.1%
Marion
Williamson
121
0.8%
0.8%
33.1%
Bloomington
McLean
119
0%
1.7%
33.6%
Dolton
Cook
103
1.9%
5.8%
16.5%
Granite City
Madison
99
1%
1%
21.2%
Maywood
Cook
95
1.1%
4.2%
33.7%
Riverdale
Cook
93
2.2%
0%
14%
Quincy
Adams
91
1.1%
0%
48.4%
Cicero
Cook
79
0%
0%
19%
Belleville
St. Clair
74
2.7%
0%
16.2%
Bellwood
Cook
73
0%
6.9%
24.7%
Urbana
Champaign
70
1.4%
0%
18.6%
Alton
Madison
68
0%
2.9%
33.8%
Freeport
Stephenson
68
1.5%
0%
39.7%
Berwyn
Cook
65
0%
7.7%
24.6%
Pekin
Tazewell
65
1.5%
0%
33.9%
Galesburg
Knox
64
0%
1.6%
21.9%
Mount Vernon
Jefferson
60
3.3%
0%
31.7%
Zion
Lake
56
0%
0%
10.7%
Centralia
Marion
55
3.6%
1.8%
41.8%
North Chicago
Lake
51
2%
2%
23.5%
Rock Island
Rock Island
48
0%
0%
37.5%
Lansing
Cook
48
0%
10.4%
8.3%
Mattoon
Coles
45
6.7%
0%
22.2%
Des Plaines
Cook
42
0%
4.8%
14.3%
Matteson
Cook
41
2.4%
2.4%
12.2%
Melrose Park
Cook
40
0%
0%
17.5%
Bolingbrook
Will
40
0%
2.5%
35%
Hazel Crest
Cook
40
0%
2.5%
20%
Jacksonville
Morgan
39
0%
2.6%
41%
Sterling
Whiteside
38
2.6%
0%
23.7%
Country Club Hills
Cook
38
2.6%
2.6%
10.5%
Park Forest
Cook
38
0%
2.6%
21.1%
South Holland
Cook
37
0%
2.7%
27%
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