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Rockford Sun

Friday, September 26, 2025

Q2 Recap: 19 parolees from Winnebago County convicted of sex crimes released on parole

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Justin Hammers, Chief of Operations at IDOC | Illinois Department of Corrections oficial website

Justin Hammers, Chief of Operations at IDOC | Illinois Department of Corrections oficial website

There were 19 offenders convicted of sex crimes living in Winnebago County who were released on parole during the second quarter of 2025, according to Illinois Department of Corrections data obtained by the Rockford Sun.

All of the parolees were men, with a median age of 41. Among them, there was one veteran. The youngest parolee was a 24-year-old man sentenced in 2024, and the oldest was an 80-year-old man sentenced in 2024.

The offender incarcerated the longest was Miguel Rocha. He was convicted in 2013 when he was 30 years old. He is now 43.

Commonly referred to as parole in Illinois, Mandatory Supervised Release (MSR) is a post-prison supervision period, in which individuals must follow specific rules like check-ins with parole officers; violations can lead to reincarceration. Unlike parole, MSR is automatically required for all individuals released after serving a prison sentence.

In 2023, Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill to reform Illinois’ Mandatory Supervised Release program. The law aims to reduce recidivism and reportedly create a more effective and equitable supervision system by incentivizing education, streamlining the review process, and expanding virtual check-ins.

“Our current supervision system too often operates unfairly, with rules that make it simply a revolving door back to jail,” Pritzker said at a bill signing ceremony in Chicago. “In fact, more than 25% of people who are released from prison in Illinois end up back behind bars, not because they’re recidivists, but instead for a noncriminal technical violation.”

A 2018 report from the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council indicated that 43% of released prisoners in Illinois return to prison within three years, costing taxpayers an estimated $152,000 per recidivism event.

Prisoners Convicted of Sex Crimes Paroled in Q2 2025
CountyTotal Number of Parolees% Women% MenMedian age
Cook County1092.8%97.2%40
Winnebago County190%100%41
Sangamon County130%100%53
Peoria County80%100%47
Schuyler County60%100%42
Lake County60%100%50
St. Clair County50%100%47
Kane County50%100%45
Boone County40%100%39
Will County20%100%43.5
Lasalle County20%100%39
Madison County20%100%51.5
Stephenson County20%100%40
Whiteside County10%100%32
Wayne County10%100%45
Vermilion County10%100%47
Tazewell County10%100%49
Calhoun County10%100%50
Ford County10%100%27
Franklin County10%100%64
Rock Island County10%100%29
Johnson County10%100%47
Ogle County10%100%34
Livingston County10%100%48
Lee County10%100%49
Lawrence County10%100%51
Kankakee County10%100%46
Knox County10%100%45
Kendall County10%100%56

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