Public Accountability Report

The Prisoner Review Board (PRB) is an independent, quasi-judicial entity that makes decisions on a range of adult and juvenile prison inmate matters. The 15 board members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Illinois Senate. Since February 1, 1978, when determinate sentencing began in Illinois, the Board’s more significant role has been to provide hearings to determine whether good conduct credits should be revoked or, upon the recommendation of the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), whether good conduct credits should be restored. Each of the actions has an impact on an offender’s release date. In addition, the Board determines when to parole remaining inmates under the old sentencing law, sets the release conditions, and returns parole violators to prison to complete their sentences. Offenders sentenced to Corrections after February 1, 1978 serve determinate or “flat” sentences, in which a stated number of years of incarceration have been set by the sentencing judge and each offender may earn one day of good conduct credit for each day served on the designated sentence. The Board reviews the recommendations for revocation of offender good conduct when there has been an alleged violation of institution rules. Following incarceration, each inmate serves one to three years of Mandatory Supervised Release. The Board sets strict conditions for behavior while in free society. The violation of these conditions can result in the Board ordering a return to prison for the full length of the term and subject the offender to revocation of up to one year of good conduct credit previously earned. The Board is the final arbiter of the conditions of the release supervision. Executive clemency hearings are conducted quarterly, and the Board makes confidential recommendations to the Governor. The Governor has the constitutional executive clemency power to grant or deny petitions.

The Board also carries out specialized juvenile parole hearings each month under a provision of the Juvenile Court Act. The Board, pursuant to a federal consent decree, has hired attorneys to represent juveniles in parole revocation cases, thereby protecting juvenile rights. The PRB also has the Morales case, which is a federal settlement agreement, with which it must comply. In this case, the Board has hired attorneys to represent adult offenders who meet certain criteria.

The Board has always provided notice and assistance to the victims of crime and has always facilitated their desire to inform the Board of their opinions with regard to the offender who victimized them; however, in 1992, the Illinois Constitution was amended by public referendum to incorporate a Victim’s Bill of Rights, which in 1993 was further defined by legislation. The Board’s staff mails notices to victims, trial judges, and prosecutors in connection with parole hearings, statutory releases, and executive clemency hearings. This is in addition to the scheduling of personal appearances by victims and victims' families before the Board. The PRB is currently digitalizing offender files to allow PRB staff and IDOC staff to access all necessary PRB documents when reviewing, conducting, and making decisions for all hearing types. This will allow the agency to run more efficiently and effectively for the State of Illinois.