These are some of the most common terms related to incarceration and the prison system in Illinois.

C#

C# (C Numbers) are people incarcerated in Illinois before 1978, who are eligible for parole because they were convicted before Illinois abolished parole. People incarcerated before 1978 are referred to as C#s because their IDOC number--a unique identifier within the prison systems--begins with "C."

CLEMENCY

‍Clemency is an expansive power held by the Governor.  In Illinois, the Governor has unfettered authority to modify any sentence in any way or to vacate any conviction. Clemency is not reviewable and overrides any judicial order.

COMMUTATION

A type of clemency through which the Governor can change a sentence for a less severe one.  For example, commutation of sentence can result in immediate release (e.g. commutation to time served) or change the terms of a sentence (e.g. commutation to a shorter term of years).

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

Also known as IDOC or DOC, the agency that is charged with housing and supervising incarcerated people in Illinois. The Department of Corrections also supervises people after their sentences are over.  See Mandatory Supervised Release. 

Earned Discretionary Sentencing Credit

A type of sentencing credit by which people in prison can be awarded up to 180 days (for people sentenced to less than 5 years) or up to 365 days (for people sentenced to more than 5 years) off their sentence at the discretion of the Department of Corrections. 

Electronic Detention

A program that allows an incarcerated person to serve a portion of their sentence at home.  Under Illinois law, and depending on their underlying conviction, many people who are over the age of 55 and have less than 1 year on their sentence are eligible for electronic detention, as are many people serving a sentence for a Class 2, 3, or 4 felony.  The Department of Corrections has internal policies that make fewer people eligible for electronic detention.

Good Conduct Credit

Sentencing credit that is automatically earned by incarcerated people in Illinois.  The amount of good conduct credit one can earn depends on the offense of conviction and the date of the offense (see Sentencing Credit Explainer). Good conduct credit can be revoked by the Department for disciplinary infractions.  

Habitual offender law (or “three strikes” laws)

Law that provides allows the prosecutor to seek a mandatory life sentence after a person has been convicted of their third-Class X offense.

Home Confinement

An alternative to custody where a person is allowed to serve their prison sentence through confinement in their home or a host site. Home confinement is often a condition of medical furlough and other Department programs.

Mandatory minimum sentences

Legislative provisions that establish the shortest possible prison term to which a judge may sentence a person convicted of a particular crime. 

Mandatory Supervised Release (MSR)

A period of supervision that follows a prison sentence in Illinois.  People on supervised release are required to follow conditions like electronic monitoring, drug testing, and program participation.  Although MSR is often called “parole,” they are different: parole is a system for early release, while MSR is a period of supervision that is served after the prison sentence is over.

Medical Furlough

Temporary release from the Department of Corrections for people with serious or terminal illnesses. This new program was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is very rarely used.

Medical Release

A new law that allows the Prisoner Review Board to release people from prison who are terminally ill or medically incapacitated.  Illinois' medical release law has passed through the Legislature but has not yet been signed into law by the Governor.

Pardon

A type of clemency which voids a conviction. See “Clemency.”

Parole

A system that allows for the early release of a person from prison before the end of the sentence, on condition that the person follows specific rules, such as reporting to a parole officer and avoiding prohibited conduct. Illinois abolished parole in 1978—-for that reason, most people convicted after 1978 are not eligible for parole in Illinois.  Supervision at the end of a prison sentence is Mandatory Supervised Release, not parole.  See “Mandatory Supervised Release.”

Prisoner Review Board (PRB)

Sometimes called the “Parole Board,” the PRB is an independent agency that manages clemency applications, makes determinations about medical release requests, hears allegations that people on MSR have violated the terms of their releases, and makes decisions at parole hearings for people convicted before 1978. The Board also makes nonbinding, confidential recommendations to the Governor on clemency petitions.

Probation

An alternative to incarceration, probationary sentences require that a person follow a set of strict guidelines for a specific period of time.  Conditions often include electronic monitoring, education or work requirements, drug testing, specific programs, and curfews. 

Programming Credit

A type of sentencing credit based on participation in vocational or rehabilitative programs.  Beginning on July 1, 2021, incarcerated people will be eligible to receive programming credit for additional activities like job assignments and volunteer programs.

Restorative Justice

A model of conflict resolution often used in the criminal legal setting as an alternative to an adversarial legal process that focuses on bringing all parties of a conflict together to repair harm and encourage reconciliation

Truth-in-Sentencing

Laws that require a convicted person to serve all, or at least a substantial portion, of the prison sentence that he/she receives. In Illinois, Truth in Sentencing laws restrict the amount of sentencing credit a person can earn.