Gov Signs Bill to Overhaul the State's Mandatory Supervised Release Program

Monday, 31 July 2023

By: Peter Hancock

Capitol News Illinois

A new Illinois law gives former inmates a better chance to succeed outside of prison and reduce the likelihood that they’ll be sent back.

On Friday, Gov. JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 423, a unanimously passed measure that overhauls the state’s mandatory supervised release program, formerly known as parole.

Under Illinois law, every person sentenced to prison for a felony conviction must serve a certain amount of time on mandatory supervised release after completing their prison time.

The length of that supervision varies based on the seriousness of the offense, and during that time the offender must comply with certain conditions and make regular contact with their parole officer.

Some of the most common conditions are that they do not possess a firearm, they do not use drugs, they submit to urine tests, and they allow their parole officer to search them and their residence.

Failure to comply with conditions of release can result in being sent back to prison.

The new law, however, provides that urine tests can only be ordered if there is reasonable suspicion of illicit drug use and the basis of that suspicion is documented in the Department of Corrections’ case management system.

It also provides that as long as the offender is in compliance with all other terms of their release, the Prisoner Review Board “shall,” rather than “may,” reduce the length of the supervision by 90 days if the offender earns a high school diploma, bachelor’s degree, career certificate or vocational technical certificate while on supervised release.

The new law, which will take effect Jan. 1, also provides for remote check-ins with parole officers, standardizes the timeline for officers to review cases and encourages them to recommend early discharge for people who demonstrate success in their release.

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