The Marshall Project

Illinois puts ankle monitors on thousands. Now it has to figure out who gets tracked—and why

Corrections officials have little data on the electronic monitoring of former prisoners. A new bill aims to change that.

The Illinois Legislature has passed a bill requiring corrections officials to maintain and publish data on electronic monitoring of former prisoners, including their racial makeup and how many of them commit new crimes.

The legislation comes after a heated state judiciary hearing during which advocates and legislators criticized the misuse of electronic monitoring, and an independent report that showed how little data the Prisoner Review Board and Department of Corrections kept on those they placed on tracking devices.

In response, the legislature unanimously passed that would require

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Marshall Project

The Marshall Project5 min readCrime & Violence
How Do Your Political Views Compare To Those Of People Behind Bars?
Our latest survey of the incarcerated reveals sharp political differences between the incarcerated and the general public, as well as a few areas of consensus.
The Marshall Project8 min readPolitics
No-Show Prison Workers Cost Mississippi Taxpayers Millions
When Darrell Adams showed up for an overnight shift at the Marshall County Correctional Facility in rural Mississippi, he was one of six officers guarding about 1,000 prisoners. Adams said he thought that was normal; only half-a-dozen guards had been
The Marshall Project6 min readCrime & Violence
Think Private Prison Companies Are Going Away Under Biden? They Have Other Plans
CoreCivic and GEO Group have been shifting away from prisons toward other government contracts, like office space and immigration detention.

Related Books & Audiobooks