> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Bribery and Corruption Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-bribery-corruption-sentences-northern-district-of-illinois/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:05:21.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:05:21.000Z - Description: In the Northern District of Illinois, 130 people were sentenced for bribery and corruption offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of them, 85 (65%) received a prison term, with a median of 15 months, and 38 (29%) received probation only. In all 94 districts, the median was 18 months. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-illinois/) › Bribery and Corruption: Northern District of Illinois **In brief:** In the Northern District of Illinois, 130 people were sentenced for bribery and corruption offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Of them, 85 (65%) received a prison term, with a median of 15 months, and 38 (29%) received probation only. In all 94 districts, the median was 18 months. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 130 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## Prison Terms and Probation Only The median prison term was 15 months among the 85 people sent to prison. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. Across all districts, the median was 18 months, which is higher, and 74% of people were sent to prison. For all offenses in this district, the median was 42 months. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 38 people (29%). A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 130 people. ## The Main Guidelines in These Cases "Bribery/Corruption" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The most common primary guideline was §2C1.1 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Bribe), used for 75 people. Next was §2B4.1 (Bribery in Procurement of Bank Loan and Other Commercial Bribery), used for 48\. Smaller groups were sentenced under §2C1.2 (Offering, Giving, Soliciting, or Receiving a Gratuity), for 6, and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact), for 1. These cases were 2% of the 6,211 people sentenced in the district. ## Sentences Below the Guideline Range Only 7 people (5%) were sentenced within the range. Below the range without a request from the government were 76 (58%), and below it at the government's request were 46 (35%). Above the range was 1 sentence (less than 1%). In all districts, 21% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 29%. ## Trial Convictions Compared With Guilty Pleas Of the 130 people, 112 (86%) pleaded guilty, and 18 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 91% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 93%. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. After a trial it was 30 months, based on 17 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among the guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement, and 4% were straight pleas. ## Yearly Counts Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 have 54 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 have 76 people. Fiscal year 2017 has the most, with 22 people, and fiscal year 2018 has the fewest, with 4. Yearly medians range from 4 months in fiscal year 2021 to 49.5 months in fiscal year 2023\. Several years have fewer than 10 people, so the table does not show a trend. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 15 | 7.5 months | 80% | | 2017 | 22 | 18 months | 91% | | 2018 | 4 | 9 months | 4 of 4 | | 2019 | 13 | 12 months | 85% | | 2020 | 15 | 14 months | 93% | | 2021 | 9 | 4 months | 9 of 9 | | 2022 | 7 | 12 months | 7 of 7 | | 2023 | 9 | 49.5 months | 8 of 9 | | 2024 | 17 | 24 months | 65% | | 2025 | 19 | 20 months | 84% | ## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History Supervised release was ordered for 76 people (58%), with a median term of 21 months. A fine was ordered for 39 (30%), and restitution for 45 (35%). In criminal history, 92% were in the lowest category (Category I), and 0% were in the highest (Category VI). ## Installation Note and Data Limits Great Lakes, Illinois, is a military installation in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court. The data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. It does not say who the officials or payers were, and prison terms are those imposed, not time served. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Bribery/Corruption" (130). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories. Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records. ### What to Keep in Mind **No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served. **Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial. **Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart. **Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually. **How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less. ## Related Analysis - [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-northern-district-of-illinois/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-northern-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-northern-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-northern-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Robbery Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-northern-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) **About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.