Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
Drug trafficking made up 38% of the 2,440 people sentenced in the Central District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 929 people. Their median prison term was 112 months, compared with 60 months for drug trafficking across all 94 federal districts.
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In brief: Drug trafficking made up 38% of the 2,440 people sentenced in the Central District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 929 people. Their median prison term was 112 months, compared with 60 months for drug trafficking across all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 929 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.
The Largest Offense Type in the District
Of the 2,440 people sentenced in the district over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 929 were in the Commission's "Drug Trafficking" category. That is 38% of the district's cases.
All 929 cases used the same primary guideline, §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)). The Commission assigns the offense type from the primary guideline.
Prison Terms Compared With All Districts
Prison terms were imposed on 924 of the 929 people (more than 99%), and 4 received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median term was 112 months, or 9.3 years. A quarter received 150 months or more, and a quarter received 60 months or less. A life sentence was imposed on 2 people.
Across all 94 districts, 185,188 people were sentenced for drug trafficking, 96% were sent to prison, and the median term was 60 months. The district's median was higher than that, and it was also higher than the 70-month median for all offenses in the district.
These are the terms imposed, not time served.
Mandatory Minimums and Guideline Positions
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 776 of the 929 people, or 84%.
Within the range were 23% (214 people). Below the range at the government's request were 37% (345 people), below the range without a government request 38% (350), and above the range 2% (20).
Across all districts, 32% of drug trafficking sentences were within the range, and for all offenses in the district the figure was 36%. The district's share was lower than both.
Guilty Pleas and Trials
A total of 896 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 33 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 98% of people in this category pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in the district the figure was 94%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 108 months. After a trial it was 240 months, based on the 33 people convicted at trial. Among the guilty pleas, 72% had a written plea agreement and 26% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Year-by-Year Medians
The federal fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends the following September. In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 366 people were sentenced for drug trafficking, and in fiscal years 2020 to 2025 there were 563.
The table gives each year's count and median. The median was 72 months in fiscal year 2016 and 120 months in each of fiscal years 2020 to 2024. It was 101 months in fiscal year 2025. The records cannot show why the yearly medians changed.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 101 | 72 months | 98% |
| 2017 | 90 | 89 months | 98% |
| 2018 | 80 | 98 months | 96% |
| 2019 | 95 | 108 months | 96% |
| 2020 | 95 | 120 months | 98% |
| 2021 | 77 | 120 months | 97% |
| 2022 | 96 | 120 months | 96% |
| 2023 | 130 | 120 months | 96% |
| 2024 | 85 | 120 months | 94% |
| 2025 | 80 | 101 months | 95% |
Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 913 people (98%), with a median term of 60 months. A fine was ordered for 9 people (less than 1%), and restitution for 14 (2%).
In criminal history, 21% were in the lowest category, category I, and 30% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
What the Records Leave Out
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it.
The records also do not describe the drug, the amount, or the facts of any case, so they cannot explain why one sentence differs from another.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Central District of Illinois (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Illinois Cent") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (929). 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.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
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 Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Central 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.