Parole in Illinois What Is

Parole in Illinois What is the strategy used in Illinois regarding its parole system? How are inmates supervised once they have achieved their partial freedom through the parole program? And what problems are being brought to light in Illinois in reference to the parole of juveniles? These issues and others are addressed in this paper.

The Literature on the Illinois Parole Program According to the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDC) Brad Curry was appointed as Acting Chief of Parole in May of 2011, and Curry's department has set in motion some programs designed to provide better supervision of released inmates. For example, the Parole Division of the Department of Corrections has added agents, reduced caseloads, and has increased "the number of contacts between agents and parolees" (www.idoc.state.il.us).

Reportedly the lower caseloads allow additional opportunities for agents to "assess risk, identify appropriate diversion programs" and at the same time "…increase public safety by actively managing the parolee population" (www.idoc.state.il.us). The IDC doesn't say how many more agents it added, nor does it identify the number of extra contacts agents are required to make with parolees -- and the lowering of caseloads is not specific to numbers -- but it appears the Parole Division is attempting to become more effective.

The Parole Division also claims to have developed a "series of graduated sanctions" that will supposedly reduce recidivism and in the meantime it will reportedly offer "community-based sanctions and resources" for parolees (www.idoc.state.il.us). The report explains that by using community-based sanctions and resources (rather than keeping the offender in jail or prison) -- along with counseling -- can reduce the number of repeat offenders.

In that same vein, the Parole Division has emphasized the value of Spotlight Reentry Centers (seven have opened in "high-impact" areas) that provide "counseling, programs and services to support the parolee's transition into society" (www.idoc.state.il.us). These programs are available for "non-violent" parole violators. Parole agents are to receive "domestic violence training" in order to be able to provide "swift action when violations occur" (www.idoc.state.il.us).

The Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) takes issue with the way juveniles are handled in the Parole Division of the IDC. "The processes by which youth are either released or retained" for long periods of time in Illinois are "based on an adult model," (Hassakis, et al., January 2011). The way juveniles are handled is based on the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, which is "…a body created to decide the fates of adult prisoners in correctional facilities," Hassakis writes in the ISBA magazine article.

Very few youths have their parents with them at their parole hearings, and moreover, "…even fewer have an adult present for parole revocation hearings" (Hassakis, p. 2). "After nearly six months of observations" that were conducted by the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, the report asserts that "…no youth has had an attorney or any legal help in making the case that he or she is ready for release" to the parole system (Hassakis, p. 2).

The ISBA article asks a highly pertinent question: What young person at age 15 has the wherewithal to represent himself before a panel of adults that will decide whether he is ready for parole -- or "remains incarcerated?" (Hassakis, p. 2). It's a rhetorical question; few if any 15-year-olds are prepared to represent themselves in a parole hearing with adults. In conclusion, the Huff Post's coverage of that same commission report alluded to above states that there are "…holes in the parole system that stack the.