Federal Murder Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
In the Northern District of Illinois, 74 people were sentenced for murder offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 74 (100%) received a prison term, with a median of 237.5 months (19.8 years), and 9 received a life sentence. The median across all 94 districts was 240 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY20 › Murder: Northern District of Illinois
In brief: In the Northern District of Illinois, 74 people were sentenced for murder offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 74 (100%) received a prison term, with a median of 237.5 months (19.8 years), and 9 received a life sentence. The median across all 94 districts was 240 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 74 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.
Life Sentences and Long Terms
Of the 74 people, 9 received a life sentence. The others received terms of years, and the median prison term was 237.5 months (19.8 years).
A quarter received 391.5 months or more, and a quarter received 175 months or less. The all-district median was 240 months, which is about the same. For all offenses in this district, it was 42 months.
No one in this group received probation only.
Trial Convictions Were More Common Than in the District Overall
Of the 74 people, 60 (81%) pleaded guilty, and 14 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 78% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 93%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 225 months. After a trial it was 470 months, based on 14 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Nothing in the data explains what separated the trial cases from the plea cases.
Among the guilty pleas, 93% had a written plea agreement, and 7% were straight pleas.
First Degree Murder and Conspiracy Guidelines
"Murder" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The most common primary guideline was §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder), used for 45 people.
Next was §2A1.5 (Conspiracy or Solicitation to Commit Murder), used for 27. One person each was sentenced under §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder) and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
These cases were 1% of the 6,211 people sentenced in the district.
Within and Below the Guideline Range
Sentences within the range were 25 (34%), and sentences below the range without a request from the government were also 25 (34%). Below the range at the government's request were 22 (30%), and above the range were 2 (3%).
In all districts, 39% of murder sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 29%.
Mandatory Minimums, Supervised Release, and Criminal History
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 10 of the 74 people (14%). Supervised release was ordered for 67 people (91%), with a median term of 36 months.
Restitution was ordered for 14 people (19%), and a fine for 2 (3%). In criminal history, 20% were in the lowest category (Category I), and 30% were in the highest (Category VI).
Counts and Medians by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 have 17 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 have 57 people. Fiscal year 2024 has the most, with 14 people.
Yearly medians range from 124 months in fiscal year 2019 to 470 months in fiscal year 2017. Counts of 2 to 14 per year are small, 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 | 3 | 210 months | 1 of 3 |
| 2017 | 10 | 470 months | 40% |
| 2018 | 2 | 224 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2019 | 2 | 124 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 9 | 180 months | 8 of 9 |
| 2021 | 9 | 210 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2022 | 8 | 313.5 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2023 | 12 | 360 months | 92% |
| 2024 | 14 | 180 months | 93% |
| 2025 | 5 | 400 months | 3 of 5 |
Installation Note and Data Limits
Great Lakes, Illinois, is a military installation located in this district, while courts-martial go to military courts.
Only convicted and sentenced people are counted here, so acquittals and dismissals do not appear. A life sentence has no month count in the data.
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 "Murder" (74). 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 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.