On Good Authority

              – 1 –
Results of the 2000 Illinois
Probation Outcome Study
On Good Authority
Vol. 5, No. 3
February 2002
On Good Authority is a periodic
briefing on trends and issues in
criminal justice program evaluation.
This report was written by Senior
Research Scientist David Olson, Ph.D.,
and Research Analyst Sharyn Adams. It
is a summary of the 2000 Illinois
Probation Outcome Study, conducted
by local probation departments in
Illinois, the Administrative Office of
the Illinois Courts’ Probation Services
Division, and the Illinois Criminal
Justice Information Authority. Copies
of the full reports used in this
summary are available from the
Authority’s Research and Analysis
Unit.
The Illinois Criminal Justice
Information Authority is a state
agency dedicated to improving the
administration of criminal justice in
Illinois. The basic functions of the
Authority are criminal justice
research, federal and state grants
administration, and information
systems development and support.
For more information, or for copies of
this or other publications, contact the
Authority at (312) 793-8550, or visit
our Web site at www.icjia.state.il.us.
The evaluation was supported by grant #99-
DB-BX-0017 awarded by the Bureau of
Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs,
U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view in
this document do not necessarily represent the
official position or policies of the U.S.
Department of Justice.
Printed by authority of the State of Illinois,
February 2002. Printing order #02-096;
6,500 copies.
George H. Ryan
Governor
Peter B. Bensinger
Chairman
Candice M. Kane
Executive Director
ILLINOIS
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
INFORMATION AUTHORITY
While probation is the most
frequently imposed sentence in
Illinois, statewide data on the
characteristics and outcomes of probation
sentences are limited. To fill this void, the
Probation Services Division of the
Administrative Office of the Illinois
Courts (AOIC), with the support of the
Authority, conducts periodic statewide
data collection to support probation
program development and research in
Illinois.
The 2000 Illinois Probation Outcome
Study, conducted by AOIC, the Authority,
and local probation departments, resulted
in the collection of detailed data for 3,364
adult and 821 juvenile probationers
discharged in November 2000. This On
Good Authority summarizes the demo-graphic,
socio-economic, and criminal and
substance abuse histories of those
discharged from probation in Illinois, as
well as the conditions of their sentences,
the extent to which probationers complied
with these conditions, and the outcomes
of these sentences.
Probationer characteristics
A number of demographic, socio-economic,
and criminal and substance
abuse history characteristics were
collected in the study, including many
found in criminological research to
increase the likelihood of recidivism and
rearrest. Statewide characteristics of
Illinois probationers were examined, and
regional variations in these characteristics
were noted across counties and between
adult and juvenile probationers. In
general, about 50 percent of both adult
and juvenile probationers in Illinois were
white and almost 80 percent were male
(Figure 1). Racial distribution of proba-tioners
varied considerably across
Illinois. For example, in Cook County most
adult and juvenile probationers were non-white
(70 and 80 percent, respectively).
By comparison, only about 10 percent of
adult and juvenile probationers in rural
counties were non-white.
Substantial proportions of both
adult and juvenile probationers enter
probation with limited school achieve-ment,
or experiencing educational
problems. About 30 percent of adult
probationers had not completed high
school or received a general equivalency
degree at the point of probation sentenc-ing,
and 39 percent of juvenile probation-ers
were identified as either enrolled in
non-traditional educational programs,
such as an alternative school or special
education program, or as dropouts or
truants at sentencing.
Another risk factor that was fairly
consistent across the state and between
adult and juvenile probationers was the
relatively low economic status of the
probationers or their families. Most adult
probationers and juvenile probationers’
families had low incomes. Statewide 72
percent of adults had annual incomes
below $20,000, as did 42 percent of the
juvenile probationers’ families. Among
Probation Research
By David Olson, Ph.D.,
and Sharyn Adams