Research at a Glance

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viessStephensonWinnebagoBooneMcHenryLake CarrollOgleDeKalbKane Cook WhitesideLeeDuPageHenryBureauLaSalleKendallWill GrundyPutnamRock IslandStarkKnoxMercerLivingstonMarshallWoodfordPeoriaFultonWarrenHendersonHancockMcDonoughTazewellMcLeanDe WittLoganMasonSchuylerAdamsBrownCassMenardMaconSangamonMorganPikeScottCalhounMacoupinMadison JerseySt. ClairMonroeMontgomeryFayetteBondClintonMarionJeffersonWashingtonRandolphPerryFranklinWilliamsonJacksonUnionJohnsonMassacPulaskilexanderHamiltonWhiteGallatinSalinePopeHardinClarkCumberlandCrawfordJasperEffinghamClayRichlandLawrenceWabashEdwardsWayneIroquosFordVermilionChampaignPiattDouglasColesMoultrieChristianShelbyKankakeeEdgarGreene 0.00 - 1.00 1.01 - 7.007.01 - 13.0013.00+Minorities less than 1 percent of populationNo commitments to IDOC Rates of overrepresentation
Research at a glance
Vol. 2, No. 1 * February 2007 | Research at a Glance is a quick fact sheet summarizing findings from the latest ICJIA reports. It was written by ICJIA research analyst Jessica Ashley, based on her Research Bulletin, “Examining incarceration trends among minority youth in Illinois.,” Vol. 5 No. 6, published December 2006. Visit www.icjia.state.il.us for more information on this topic.
This project was supported by Grant #03-DB-BX-0037, awarded to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention through the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission. Points of view in this document do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Minorities overrepresented in Illinois juvenile correctional facilities
Overrepresentation of minorities, primarily blacks, exists in the Illinois Department of Corrections Juvenile Division, according to an IDOC data analysis.
In state fiscal year 2004 (FY04), minorities accounted for 63 percent of all juveniles being detained in the IDOC Juvenile Division despite representing only 42 percent of the general population. Black youth, who make up only 18 percent of the general population, comprised 52 percent of the IDOC Juvenile Divi­sion population.
Black youth were found to be 4.27 times more likely than white youth to be committed to a youth center in IDOC’s Juvenile Division. Hispanic youth had the same commitment rate as whites.
Also, black youth were five times more likely than white youth to be committed for drug crimes, at 81 per­cent and 16 percent, respectively.
Disproportionate minority confine­ment is measured by the relative rate index, comparing incarceration rates of minorities with those of a refer­ence group. Minority overrepresenta­tion occurs when the index exceeds 1.00 (Figure 1). White youth served as the reference group in this data analysis.
Figure 1
Relative rate indices by county for black youth in IDOC, FY04
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
Lori G. Levin, Director
S
tate of Illinois
Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor
Sources: Illinois Department of Corrections and U.S. Census Bureau