Chicago City Wire

Ben Bradley, a reporter with WGN Investigates, said that Illinois prison officials are unable to provide data on recidivism and have declined external assistance with inmate re-entry programs. This statement was made on the social media platform X.

"State prison officials can't currently say how many Illinois inmates commit new crimes after they're released," said Bradley. "IDOC has also rejected an offer of help with re-entry programs."

The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), responsible for tracking recidivism rates, defines recidivism as the percentage of individuals returning to IDOC within three years of release. According to the IDOC’s Fiscal Year 2024 fact sheet, recidivism data remains provisional as the department continues to validate programming and data elements, which may still change. The fact sheet notes that "Recidivism rate indicates the percentage of individuals who return to IDOC within three years after release," emphasizing that data for those years are currently under review.

Participants in the Illinois Department of Corrections’ Incarceration Program (IIP) reported that graduates in Fiscal Year 2019 exhibited a significantly lower three-year recidivism rate of 26.2%, compared with the department-wide rate of 36.7% for the same cohort. This suggests that targeted, judge-recommended programming like IIP may reduce re-offense rates more effectively than general release outcomes. The fact sheet highlights that of those who entered IIP in Fiscal Year 2022, 95.1% (78 individuals) completed the program and were released to Mandatory Supervised Release, indicating high program completion rates alongside lower recidivism.

Loyola University Chicago’s Center for Criminal Justice conducted a study on arrests among people released from Illinois prisons between 2018 and 2019. The study found that 45% were not arrested for any offense within three years, and another 30% were arrested only for non-violent crimes, meaning 75% did not face new violent crime charges during that period. Within the remaining 25% who were arrested for violent offenses, 13% were for non-domestic violent crimes and 12% were related to domestic violence; less than 1% faced first-degree murder charges. The study also noted demographic factors such as being male, under age 26, or having a history of violent arrests were associated with higher risks of violent recidivism, though these groups represented a small portion of total releases.

According to WGN-TV, Ben Bradley is an Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter with over 25 years covering news in Chicago. He currently co-anchors the WGN Evening News at 4 p.m. with Lourdes Duarte. Bradley joined WGN-TV in January 2017 as part of the WGN Investigates team after spending 14 years at ABC7 Chicago as a reporter and weekend morning anchor. His career includes reporting stories from China, Brazil, the Caribbean, and across the United States and has been recognized with multiple awards including ten Emmy Awards.