Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
In the Central District of Illinois, 30 of 32 people (94%) sentenced for prison offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 2 (6%) received probation only. The median prison term was 12 months, compared with 10 months across all 94 districts.
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In brief: In the Central District of Illinois, 30 of 32 people (94%) sentenced for prison offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 2 (6%) received probation only. The median prison term was 12 months, compared with 10 months across all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 32 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.
Prison Terms for Prison Offenses
The 30 people who went to prison had a median term of 12 months. A quarter received 18 months or more, and a quarter received 3.9 months or less.
Across all 94 districts, 4,976 people were sentenced in this category, 96% were sent to prison, and the median term was 10 months. The district's median was higher than that figure and lower than the 70-month median for all offenses in the district.
Contraband and Escape Cases
"Prison Offenses" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's category for crimes tied to prisons, assigned from the primary guideline. In this district, 18 cases used §2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison).
The other 13 used §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape). These cases were 1% of the 2,440 people sentenced in the district.
All 32 Cases Ended in Guilty Pleas
Every person in this group (32 of 32) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. The rate was 99% across all districts and 94% for every offense in the district.
Of the guilty pleas, 25% had a written plea agreement and 59% were straight pleas with no agreement. None of the 31 people with mandatory minimum information recorded had one apply.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Sentences within the range numbered 22 (71%). Another 5 people (16%) were below the range without a government request, 3 (10%) were below it at the government's request, and 1 (3%) was above it.
Across all districts, 63% of sentences in this category were within the range, and for all offenses in the district the figure was 36%. The district's share was higher than both.
Criminal History
In criminal history, 35% were in the highest category, category VI, and 13% were in the lowest, category I. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 15 people (47%), with a median term of 36 months. No fine was ordered (0%), and restitution was ordered for 2 people (6%).
Yearly Counts
The federal fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends the following September. In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 12 people were sentenced, and in fiscal years 2020 to 2025 there were 20.
Yearly counts in the table run from 1 to 6 people. The median was 0 months in fiscal year 2023 and 22.5 months in fiscal year 2019. With counts this small, the records cannot show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 4 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 3 | 12 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 6 | 14 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2019 | 2 | 22.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 2 | 3 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 2 | 10 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 5 | 8 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 4 | 12 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 4 | 16.5 months | 4 of 4 |
What the Data Does Not Cover
This data lists only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are missing. Terms shown are those imposed by the court.
No facts of any case appear in the records.
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 "Prison Offenses" (32). 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 Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of Illinois, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- 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)
- 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.