An important way to tell whether a corrections system is working is to track how many people end up back behind bars after serving time.

For years now, Illinois has left the public in the dark about how many people are returning to prison after release.

The phenomenon is called recidivism, which refers to convicts who reoffend, cycling in and out of the corrections system.

The state hasn’t known since 2022 how well or poorly it’s doing on this measure, according to WGN Investigates, which disclosed the problem. Back in 2022, 37% of inmates reoffended within three years of their release, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections . Since then, the state has no idea.

Why? IDOC spokesperson Naomi Puzzello told WGN, “There’s a programming issue with the file that generate

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