Federal Commercialized Vice Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
In the Northern District of Illinois, 7 of the 16 people sentenced for commercialized vice offenses in fiscal years 2020 to 2023 (44%) received a prison term. For this offense type in all 94 federal districts, 70% were sent to prison. All 16 pleaded guilty, and 12 were sentenced below the guideline
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY20 › Commercialized Vice: Northern District of Illinois
In brief: In the Northern District of Illinois, 7 of the 16 people sentenced for commercialized vice offenses in fiscal years 2020 to 2023 (44%) received a prison term. For this offense type in all 94 federal districts, 70% were sent to prison. All 16 pleaded guilty, and 12 were sentenced below the guideline range without a government request.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 16 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 series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
How Many Were Sent to Prison?
Of the 16 people, 7 (44%) received a prison term, and 4 (25%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 21 months. A quarter received 31.5 months or more, and a quarter received 17.5 months or less. For this offense type in all 94 districts, the median prison term was 18 months. For all offenses in the district, it was 42 months.
Sentences Below the Guideline Range
Of the 16 people with the information recorded, 12 (75%) were sentenced below the guideline range without a government request. Another 3 (19%) were within the range, and 1 (6%) was above it. None was sentenced below the range at the government's request.
For commercialized vice in all 94 districts, 42% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 29%. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to none of the 16 people.
Which Offenses Are in This Category?
"Commercialized Vice" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's name for a group of offenses, sorted by primary sentencing guideline. The most common was §2E3.1 (Gambling Offenses), with 9 people. Next was §2G1.1 (Promoting a Commercial Sex Act or Prohibited Sexual Conduct with an Individual Other than a Minor), with 7 people.
These cases were less than 1% of the 6,211 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Guilty Pleas
All 16 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Every plea had a written plea agreement. For this offense type in all 94 districts, 97% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in the district the figure was 93%.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
After release, 6 people (38%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 24 months. A fine was ordered for 5 people (31%), and restitution for 1 (6%).
In criminal history, 75% were in the lowest category and 0% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
A Short Span With One Busy Year
The data cover only fiscal years 2020 to 2023, and the table shows that fiscal year 2021 had 9 of the 16 people. In 2 of the years, the median is listed as not available, because too few people in those years had a prison term to calculate one. Counts this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 3 | 36 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 9 | 17.5 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2022 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
What the Records Do Not Cover
Anyone acquitted or whose case was dismissed is missing from this data, which lists only people who were convicted and sentenced. The terms are those imposed at sentencing, not time served.
The Great Lakes, Illinois, installation is inside the district. Service members are tried by courts-martial in military courts, and those are not part of these federal numbers.
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 "Commercialized Vice" (16). 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.