PAROLEE NUMBERS BREAKING RECORDS

They can't help all of the parolees who come knocking at Chicago's St.
Leonard's Ministries, which runs a 14-week high school program for
ex-offenders.

A class of 20 graduated this weekend, but 40 were turned away, said
Mary Hornscheimer, who runs the program. She has been getting about
five calls a day for next fall's class, even though registration
hasn't started.

"The phones are ringing off the hook," she said.

A record number of inmates, 16,800, will exit the state's prisons and
return to Chicago during the fiscal year ending June 30 -- a 3 percent
increase over fiscal year 2004.

Statewide, an estimated 33,296 parolees will be released into Illinois
communities, also a record and a 5 percent jump.

More Parole Agents Hired

Gov. Blagojevich is continuing a push started under Gov. George Ryan
to boost the number of parole agents who supervise former offenders.
And new programs seek to scare parolees away from crime, keep them off
drugs and help them find jobs.

"By putting record numbers of parole officers on the street to
supervise record numbers of parolees, we're experiencing some early
success in reducing crime in the short term," said Deanne Benos,
assistant state corrections director. "In the long term, our goal is
to reduce recidivism -- to help move as many offenders from guns and
crime and toward honest jobs."

Still, it seems the number of parolees will remain at record levels
for the near future, authorities said.

"There are people who got big sentences in the early and mid-1980s and
are being released on the street," said Mike Smith, a supervisor in
the Cook County state's attorney's office. "We locked up a lot of
violent gang members back then."

Also, the expanding number of anti-drug laws on the books have boosted
the prison population as well as the number of parolees, corrections
officials said.

The Blagojevich administration is focusing on drug treatment for
prisoners. Sheridan Correctional Center, which closed in 2002,
reopened in January 2004 as a prison that focuses exclusively on drug
treatment.

For the most serious risks -- sex offenders -- the Corrections
Department is seeking funding for 31 new parole agents to supervise
them. The plan is to increase the number of monthly visits parole
officers make to them.

A week ago, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that 100 sex offenders were
living in Illinois nursing homes. Critics accused the state of using
the homes as "dumping grounds," which the state denied.

Killing Was Wakeup Call

The 2001 killing of 12-year-old Miguel DeLaRosa in the Humboldt Park
neighborhood was a wakeup call for the state's parole system. A
paroled gang member fired a shot from a car and struck the boy instead
of a rival.

It prompted Mayor Daley and Ryan to announce a crackdown on parole
violators. Ryan delivered on a promise to double the number of parole
agents to about 360 by the end of his term. Now there are about 470
parole agents statewide, and Blagojevich would like to expand that.

Despite the booming parole totals, prison authorities stress that
fiscal year 2005 will post the lowest rate of new crimes among
parolees since fiscal year 1989. Various programs, like the federally
funded Project Safe Neighborhoods, try to scare parolees straight.

Parole agent Tommie Dade is on the front lines of the fight to keep
parolees in line. Last week, he was checking on Ricky, out of prison
for one day but already in violation of the rules: He was not at his
parents' apartment.

Dade tracked him to his brother's house in minutes. Ricky already had
booze on his breath.

'Drinking Beers Since I Was 6'

Ricky, who is trying to kick a drug addiction, was incredulous when he
heard he was banned from drinking alcohol, too.

"Oh, that's going to be hard. I need to have a beer. I've been
drinking beers and beers and beers over the years," he said. "I'm 43
years old. I've been drinking beers since I was 6."

Dade lifted up his personal cell phone and told him to call when
there's a temptation.

"If you decide you wanna get off and get high, you call me first. Call
your mama. You call someone before you walk out that door," Dade told
him.

Dade knows he has an uphill battle with Ricky.

In Charge of 96 Parolees

But carrying a case load of 96 parolees, he has seen people like Ricky
fully progress, get a job and maybe start going to church.

Dade said he's always running, having to meet with 96 people one, two,
three or more times a month. But his load is down from the 120 cases
he had 3-1/2 years ago.

Ten years ago, Jac Charlier, now regional supervisor for the North
Parole Division, said he carried 40 to 50 cases in the same West Side
area.

But it isn't a fair comparison, he acknowledged, because the structure
was different. Street agents handled only the most severe parolees;
others walked themselves in -- a strategy that didn't work.

Charlier said the department's goal is 50 to 65 cases per
agent.

Instead of throwing parolees back in jail for even slight violations,
the department has a system of graduated penalties that range from
having to meet with a supervisor to attending special programs.

"There's a question of how good it is to have these people locked up.
It can easily turn into a revolving door," said Henry Sanchez, parole
supervisor with the Illinois Corrections Department.

But then there are the success stories. Such is the case with Jerry, a
former gang-banger and 18-year drug addict. Jerry grew up on the South
Side, was shot twice, stabbed once and has been in and out of prison.

But he has turned a corner.

Jerry said he found God just before doing nine months for burglary.
Now that he's out, he has a landscaping job lined up and has been
clean from drugs for 14 months.

"I understand I am special. He created me to achieve certain things,"
he says. "That's basically what sustains me."

[sidebar]

BREAKDOWN OF PAROLEES

About 41 percent of the parolees being released this fiscal year were
convicted of narcotics offenses.

Another 27 percent are behind bars for property crimes that often are
linked to feeding a drug habit.

About 21 percent of the parolees have committed a "person crime" such
as a robbery or shooting, and 4 percent were sex offenders.

PAROLE RELEASES STATEWIDE

2002: 31,331

2003: 29,983

2004: 31,528

2005: 33,296

PAROLE RELEASES TO CHICAGO

2002: 19,569

2003: 17,704

2004: 18,636

2005: 19,996

Source - Illinois Department of Corrections