Legislators in Illinois are again moving to act on convincing recent research which shows what many parents already knew - the part of the brain which formulates rational behavior is not fully developed in most people until around 25 years of age. In the past, changes in Illinois criminal law have included changing the jurisdiction of the adult criminal system over even nominally juvenile offenders. Now, according to a Chicago Tribune report, there's a new parole law focused on young offenders as well. 

Under the new law, people convicted as adults of most crimes committed before they reached the age of 21 will be eligible to seek Mandatory Supervised Release (MSR) as Illinois calls parole. The Illinois Prisoner Review Board, which hears petitions for MSR, is not required to automatically grant petitions, but will hear the petitions on an individual basis like any other. The law is targeted at crimes involving lengthier sentences. As a result, prisoners can seek MSR after serving 10 years of their sentence for crimes not including predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, or who have been sentenced to life in prison. Those who were convicted of first degree murder or aggravated criminal sexual assault in Illinois will have to wait out 20 years of their sentence before seeking Mandatory Supervised Release or parole under the Illinois law, which becomes effective June 1, 2019.

If you are seeking help with filing a petition for mandatory supervised release (or parole) in Illinois, contact Fagan, Fagan & Davis for a free consultation.