Locked up and a long way from home, family.

About 49 percent of all Illinois prisoners released in 2005 returned to Chicago ZIP codes. But children in Chicago whose parents have been incarcerated bear a heavy burden in staying connected with their mothers and fathers, since prisons are hundreds of miles from the city. Surveys of incarcerated parents, the relatives caring for their children and the agencies working with these families indicate that transportation services for prison visits are sorely needed.

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Not just in Chicago

Here are the areas outside the city of
Chicago with the highest concentration
of ex-prisoners returning in 2005.

ZIP       TOWN               RACE      EXITS *

61602     Peoria             White       871
62523     Decatur            Black       434
62701     Springfield        White       257
60153     Maywood            Black       214
62049     Hillsboro          White       148
60155     Broadview          Black       143
62703     Springfield        White       137
61605     Peoria             Black       129
62205     East St. Louis     Black       125
61102     Rockford           Mixed       112
62201     East St. Louis     Black       108
62846     Ina                White       106
61101     Rockford           White       105

* The number of ex-prisoners released per 10,000 residents

Notes: Only ZIP codes receiving at least 25 ex-prisoners
were included. Black and white ZIP codes are at least
two-thirds black or white. All others were labeled as mixed.

Sources: Illinois Department of Corrections, U.S. Census Bureau;
analyzed by The Chicago Reporter

Stretched thin

Families--particularly grandparents--are often strained financially when they absorb children whose parents have been incarcerated.

TYPE OF HOUSEHOLD                INCOME *

With grandchildren whose         $27,026
parents were not present

All other Chicago households     $57,906

* 2005 median income