August 30, 2004
The 2003 Statistical Presentation is published by the Illinois Department of Corrections pursuant to Chapter 730, Illinois Compiled Statutes, 5/5-5-4.3. This document provides insights regarding the types of offenders sentenced to the Department. Most of the data summarize sentencing and length of stay trends over the last ten years to identify factors contributing to the expanding prison population.
At the end of calendar year 2003, the adult prison population was 38.2% over rated capacity, totaling 43,418 inmates in a correctional system with a rated capacity of 31,434. Another 33,702 offenders were on Mandatory Supervised Release (MSR). The prison population has grown from 36,543 in 1994, an increase of 18.8%.
To address the historical increase in the inmate population, the Department currently operates 27 adult correctional centers, eight Adult Transition Centers, seven work camps, two Impact Incarceration Program facilities, and 26 parole offices. The Department has developed management standards that will hold staff more accountable for supervision of inmates within correctional facilities and offenders released to the community.
Much of the prison population growth has been attributed to longer prison terms due to the enactment of stricter laws, many written to increase the penalties for drugs and weapons violations. In recent years, however, the Department has seen a greater proportion of inmates sentenced to prison with shorter sentences for lower class offenses. There also had been an increase in admissions for released inmates who committed a technical violation while on MSR. Lengths of stay for technical violations are relatively shorter than those for court admissions. Instead of incarcerating more long-term inmates, the Department had been going through a period in which inmates with shorter lengths of stay were advancing more rapidly through the prison system. Consequently, the inmate population did not accumulate at rates previously associated with longer sentences. However, the effects of the long-term sentencing enhancements enacted during the late 1990s are beginning to take effect, as seen by a 1.7% increase in the prison population during 2003.
Sincerely,
Roger E. Walker Jr.
Director
