Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the Northern District of Illinois, FY2016–2025
In the Northern District of Illinois, 174 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of them, 110 (63%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months, and 50 (29%) received probation only. Only 14 people (8%) were sentenced within the guideline range.
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In brief: In the Northern District of Illinois, 174 people were sentenced for tax offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of them, 110 (63%) received a prison term, with a median of 12 months, and 50 (29%) received probation only. Only 14 people (8%) were sentenced within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 174 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.
Few Tax Sentences Were Within the Guideline Range
Within the guideline range were 14 of the 174 sentences (8%). In all districts, 24% of tax sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 29%.
Most sentences were below the range. For 125 people (72%), the sentence was below the range without a request from the government, and for 35 (20%) it was below the range at the government's request. No sentence was above the range.
Prison, Probation, and Median Terms
The median prison term was 12 months among the 110 people sent to prison. A quarter received 20.8 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less.
The all-district median for tax offenses was 15.1 months, which is higher. The median for all offenses in this district was 42 months.
Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 50 people (29%). In all districts, 66% of people sentenced for tax offenses were sent to prison.
Restitution and Fines
Restitution was ordered for 147 people (84%), and a fine for 46 (26%). Supervised release followed prison for 95 people (55%), with a median term of 12 months.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 173 people with that information (0%).
Guilty Pleas and Trial Convictions
Of the 174 people, 155 (89%) pleaded guilty, and 19 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 93% pleaded guilty, the same as the 93% for all offenses in this district.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 12 months. After a trial it was 22.5 months, based on 18 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Among the guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement, and 3% were straight pleas.
Tax Guidelines and Criminal History
"Tax" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The most common primary guideline was §2T1.1 (Tax Evasion), used for 131 people. Next was §2T1.4 (Aiding, Assisting, Procuring, Counseling, or Advising Tax Fraud), used for 39.
Smaller groups were sentenced under §2T1.6 (Failing to Collect or Truthfully Account for and Pay Over Tax), for 2, and §2T3.1 (Evading Import Duties or Restrictions (Smuggling)), for 1.
In criminal history, 85% were in the lowest category (Category I), and less than 1% were in the highest (Category VI). Tax cases were 3% of the district's 6,211 people sentenced.
Yearly Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 have 106 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 have 68 people. The largest year is fiscal year 2017, with 35 people, and several later years have 10 to 12.
Yearly medians range from 9 months in fiscal year 2023 to 18 months in fiscal year 2025. With small yearly counts, 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 | 32 | 15 months | 94% |
| 2017 | 35 | 12 months | 83% |
| 2018 | 23 | 10 months | 83% |
| 2019 | 16 | 12 months | 94% |
| 2020 | 10 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 15 | 15 months | 93% |
| 2022 | 10 | 15 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 11 | 9 months | 82% |
| 2024 | 12 | 12 months | 83% |
| 2025 | 10 | 18 months | 90% |
Installation Note and Data Limits
Great Lakes, Illinois, is a military installation in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
The data does not include acquittals, dismissals, or the amount of tax involved, and prison terms are the terms imposed rather than time served.
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 "Tax" (174). 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 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.