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# Federal Firearms Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:15:43.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:15:43.000Z
- Description: In the Central District of Illinois, 457 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 19% of the district's 2,440 cases. The median prison term was 48 months, compared with 42 months for firearms offenses across all 94 districts.
- 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 Central District of Illinois, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-central-district-of-illinois/) › Firearms: Central District of Illinois

**In brief:** In the Central District of Illinois, 457 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 19% of the district's 2,440 cases. The median prison term was 48 months, compared with 42 months for firearms offenses across all 94 districts.

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 457 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/).

## Firearms Sentences Were Within the Guideline Range Less Often

For all 457 people, the Commission recorded where the sentence fell against the guideline range. Within the range were 46% (212 people), below the range without a government request 32% (148), below the range at the government's request 11% (50), and above the range 10% (47).

Across all districts, 52% of firearms sentences were within the range. The district's share was lower than that and higher than the 36% for all offenses in the district.

## Prison Terms

Prison terms were imposed on 451 of the 457 people (99%), and 3 received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median term was 48 months, or 4 years. A quarter received 84 months or more, and a quarter received 30 months or less.

Across all districts, 78,851 people were sentenced for firearms offenses, 94% were sent to prison, and the median term was 42 months. The district's median was higher than that figure and lower than the 70-month median for all offenses in the district.

## Plea Agreements Were Less Common

Of the 457 people, 435 (95%) pleaded guilty and 22 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 41% had a written plea agreement and 55% were straight pleas with no agreement.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 48 months. After a trial it was 132 months, based on the 22 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.

Across all districts, 97% of firearms cases ended in a guilty plea, and for all offenses in the district the figure was 94%.

## Which Guideline Applied

"Firearms" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, assigned from the primary guideline. In 447 cases the guideline was §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition).

One case used §2K2.5 (Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility). A mandatory minimum applied to 59 of the 457 people (13%).

## Yearly Counts and Medians

The federal fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends the following September. In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 180 people were sentenced for firearms offenses, and in fiscal years 2020 to 2025 there were 277.

The table lists each year. Medians were 60 months in fiscal year 2016 and 71 months in fiscal year 2019\. They were 37 months in each of fiscal years 2021 and 2022, and 46 months in fiscal years 2023 to 2025\. The records cannot show why the yearly medians changed.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 50               | 60 months     | 98%            |
| 2017        | 49               | 57 months     | 96%            |
| 2018        | 44               | 60 months     | 93%            |
| 2019        | 37               | 71 months     | 95%            |
| 2020        | 27               | 48 months     | 96%            |
| 2021        | 56               | 37 months     | 100%           |
| 2022        | 61               | 37 months     | 95%            |
| 2023        | 53               | 46 months     | 87%            |
| 2024        | 44               | 46 months     | 93%            |
| 2025        | 36               | 46 months     | 100%           |

## Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 447 people (98%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 4 (less than 1%), and restitution for 8 (2%).

In criminal history, 9% were in the lowest category, category I, and 25% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## What These Numbers Do Not Show

Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.

The records do not describe the facts of any case, so they cannot show 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 "Firearms" (457). 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](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 Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-central-district-of-illinois/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-central-district-of-illinois/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sexual-abuse-sentences-central-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.