Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
Drug trafficking cases were 27% of the 6,211 people sentenced in the Northern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 1,701 people sentenced for drug trafficking, 1,662 (98%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years), the same as the median across all 9
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY20 › Drug Trafficking: Northern District of Illinois
In brief: Drug trafficking cases were 27% of the 6,211 people sentenced in the Northern District of Illinois in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of the 1,701 people sentenced for drug trafficking, 1,662 (98%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years), the same as the median across all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,701 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.
Drug Trafficking in the District's Caseload
Of the 6,211 people sentenced in this district over the 10 fiscal years, 1,701 were sentenced for drug trafficking, which is 27%. "Drug Trafficking" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type.
Nearly all of these cases used one primary guideline: §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)), used for 1,694 people. Another 4 people were sentenced under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 have 697 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 have 1,004 people.
Prison Terms
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 60 months. A quarter received 96 months or more, and a quarter received 30 months or less. Probation only was given to 24 people (1%).
For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 42 months, which is lower than the drug trafficking median. In all districts, 96% of people sentenced for drug trafficking were sent to prison.
After prison, 1,594 people (94%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months.
Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1,040 of the 1,701 people (61%). That is a large share, and a mandatory minimum sets a floor that applies in addition to the guideline range.
Fines were ordered for 56 people (3%), and restitution for 24 (1%).
Sentences Below the Guideline Range
The sentence was within the guideline range for 394 people (23%). Most sentences were below the range: 952 (56%) without a request from the government, and 340 (20%) at the government's request. Above the range were 15 (less than 1%).
In all districts, 32% of drug trafficking sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 29%.
Plea Rates and Trial Sentences
Of the 1,701 people, 1,616 (95%) pleaded guilty, and 85 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 98% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 93%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 60 months. After a trial it was 124 months, based on 85 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. The records do not show how the trial cases differed from the plea cases.
Among the guilty pleas, 96% had a written plea agreement, and 4% were straight pleas.
Fiscal Year Counts and Medians
The yearly count ranges from 140 people in fiscal year 2019 to 223 in fiscal year 2018. The median prison term was 60 months in most years. The exceptions are 65 months in fiscal year 2017 and 44 months in fiscal year 2020.
The plea rate was 86% in fiscal year 2016 and was 93% or higher in every later year. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of September.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 184 | 60 months | 86% |
| 2017 | 150 | 65 months | 93% |
| 2018 | 223 | 60 months | 95% |
| 2019 | 140 | 60 months | 98% |
| 2020 | 154 | 44 months | more than 99% |
| 2021 | 181 | 60 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 171 | 60 months | 96% |
| 2023 | 184 | 60 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 170 | 60 months | 94% |
| 2025 | 144 | 60 months | 95% |
Criminal History and Great Lakes
In criminal history, 44% were in the lowest category (Category I), and 15% were in the highest (Category VI).
Great Lakes, Illinois, is a military installation in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court, and these numbers do not describe cases from the installation.
What the Data Cannot Show
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served, and the data does not give drug types or case details.
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 "Drug Trafficking" (1,701). 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 Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- 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)
- Federal Immigration Offense 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.