Indeterminate Parole Hearing and En Banc Vote Process (Illinois)

The Illinois Prisoner Review Board explains that indeterminate parole hearings are held for people sentenced for crimes committed before 1978, long known as "C numbers," whose sentences are ranges such as 10 to 30 years. These individuals come before the Board every one to five years to request parole after serving the minimum time calculated by the Illinois Department of Corrections. The Board meets En Banc once a month, where a member presents a synopsis of the interview and reports any testimony given in support of or in protest of release, and parole is granted or denied by a vote of the majority of Board members. If the vote is to deny, a member may move for a two-to-five-year set before the next hearing, which requires a separate vote. Someone not paroled who reaches their statutory maximum release date is released to a three-year parole term if sentenced after 1973, or six months if sentenced before 1973.