WASHINGTON, D.C, April 17, 2003—The State of Illinois released 30,068 inmates from its prisons in 2001, 157 percent above the 11,715 prisoners returned to society in 1983, according to a new analysis by the nonpartisan Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center.
Fifty-two percent of the ex-prisoners went to Chicago. Six economically and socially disadvantaged Chicago areas—Austin, Humboldt Park, North Lawndale, Englewood, West Englewood, and East Garfield Park-accounted for 34 percent of the prisoners returning to the city, with each area receiving 412 to 1,681 prisoners. Aside from Cook County, home to Chicago, no other county received more than three percent of those released.
"The return of so many prisoners to a handful of Chicago communities is only half the story," notes Urban Institute researcher Nancy G. La Vigne. "The other half is the high rate of people being sent or returned to prison who come from these communities. This cycling in and out of prison can have significant and costly social and economic impacts on the residents in these neighborhoods."
"A Portrait of Prisoner Reentry in Illinois," by Nancy G. La Vigne and Cynthia A. Mamalian with Jeremy Travis and Christy Visher, examines the policy context surrounding Illinois reentry, the characteristics and geographic distribution of Illinois' returning prisoners, and the social and economic climates of the communities that are home to the highest concentrations of former inmates.
Data about state prison inmates who were released in 2001 after receiving sentences of one year or more came from the Illinois Department of Corrections. Information on incarceration and release trends were obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. Local Census data were compiled by the Metro Chicago Information Center.
"Reliable research is an important first step in understanding and responding to the issues raised by the reentry of ex-offenders," says Julia Stasch, vice president of the Program on Human and Community Development of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a major funder of the study nationally and in Illinois. "We hope this study helps policymakers address the unique circumstances of returning prisoners and the places where they go to live."
Portrait Details
Understanding the needs of prisoners and the pathways to reintegration is key to improving the safety and well-being of the communities and families most affected by the return of prisoners.
Prisoner Characteristics: Of the 30,068 prisoners released in 2001, 90 percent were male and 67 percent were black. Forty percent served time for drug offenses and 24 percent were violent offenders. The average prison stay was about 16 months. Fifty-two percent had been in an Illinois prison at least once before and 27 percent had been readmitted to prison because of technical parole violations. Forty-six percent left children behind while incarcerated.
Prison Population Increase: Illinois' incarceration and reentry trends mirror those at the national level. Between 1970 and 2001, the state's prison population rose 505 percent, from 7,326 to 44,348 people, reflecting a dramatic jump in drug-law violations, a steady increase in convictions for violent offenses, and a significant increase in parole revocations of released prisoners.
Release Conditions and Violations: Just 0.1 percent of the inmates appeared before a parole board or other authority to present a home or employment plan for after their release. At the same time, 83 percent returned to society with the condition that they report to a parole officer. Parolees returned to prison for technical or new crime violations increased by 32 percent from fiscal years 1991 to 1998, at which time they accounted for 25 percent of prison admissions.
Length of Sentences: Legislation enacted in 1978 has resulted in longer sentences and increased time served for certain classes of inmates, especially those convicted of the most serious felonies. At the same time, drug offenders, who serve short sentences, represent an increasing share of new admissions, and parole violators, who also serve short sentences, continue to cycle in and out of the system. These shorter stays preclude many inmates from taking advantage of the prison system's educational, vocational, employment, and drug treatment programs.
The Chicago Situation: Over half of the prisoners released in 2001 returned to Chicago. The communities with the highest numbers of returning prisoners-Austin, Humboldt Park, North Lawndale, Englewood, West Englewood, and East Garfield Park-exceeded the citywide average with regard to the percentage of female-headed households, unemployment rate, and poverty rate. With the exception of West Englewood, these communities also experienced higher rates of serious crimes in 2001 when compared to the city average.
The Transition Challenge
The process of leaving prison and returning to society is a pressing local and national concern. Nationwide, an estimated 630,000 inmates were released from state and federal prisons in 2001, a fourfold increase over the past two decades. The first few years after release are critical in determining whether a criminal will return to prison, with nearly two-thirds of all new offenses occurring during the first three years back in the community.
The extensive criminal histories of many Illinois prisoners, La Vigne says, do not bode well for maintaining crime-free lifestyles and can create barriers to employment, housing, food stamps, and other forms of welfare. The Chicago Housing Authority, for example, considers criminal history as part of its admission criteria and bars some convicted of drug or violent crimes from public housing for up to three years.
In addition, the vast majority of the state's inmates have significant educational, vocational, and employment needs, the report notes. While Illinois provides an array of facility- and community-based services to increase the likelihood of successful reintegration and to lower the recidivism rate, the programs serve a very small percentage of inmates and parolees.
Since 1991, however, prisoners to be released with community supervision obligations are required to participate in the PreStart Program, which emphasizes pre-release education, preparation, and planning, coupled with post-release community-based services. Budgetary constraints, reduced staffing, and low staff morale have hampered smooth implementation of the program.
"Returning Home" Initiative
"A Portrait of Prisoner Reentry in Illinois" is part of a larger Urban Institute initiative entitled "Returning Home: Understanding the Challenges of Prisoner Reentry." With primary support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and additional funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, the Illinois component of the project will include interviews with prisoners before and after their release; interviews with family members; focus groups with residents in communities to which many prisoners return; analysis of data on community well-being; and interviews with community stakeholders. State laws and policies will also be reviewed to provide the overall political and policy contexts. The results of the Illinois study will be published in 2004. Similar research will be conducted in Ohio and Texas. Maryland served as the project's pilot study site.
"A Portrait of Prisoner Reentry in Illinois," by Nancy G. La Vigne and Cynthia A. Mamalian with Jeremy Travis and Christy Visher, is available at http://urban.org/url.cfm?ID=410662. It is part of the Urban Institute's ongoing research on crime and justice issues. For more on this subject, go to http://urban.org/r/crime.cfm.
The Urban Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research and educational organization that examines the social, economic, and governance challenges facing the nation.
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