Metro East Sun

There are two inmates sentenced in St. Clair County set to be released from prison during the week ending Sept. 13, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

In total, two men are set to be released over this period. Joseph A. Grass III, who served the longest sentence among them, spent one year incarcerated for an offense recorded as 'manu/del 1<15 gram fentanyl'.

Most prison inmates are released on some condition of supervised monitoring upon reentering civilian life. This monitoring can last from one year to the rest of someone’s life.

According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, Illinois spends about $45,828 a year per incarcerated person. In a 2023 study by the Prison Policy Initiative, the state's incarceration rate was at 433 per 100,000, higher than every industrialized country, except the United States. When compared with its surrounding states, Illinois was the lowest. Kentucky and Missouri have rates over 700 per 100,000.

Another study by the Prison Policy Initiative highlighted that the number of unconvicted individuals was more than two times higher than that of convicted individuals, possibly one of the leading causes of prison population growth in the state.

Name	Offense	Supervised Release Date	Holding Facility
Joseph A. Grass III	Manu/Del 1<15 gram fentanyl	09/10/2025	Menard Correctional Center
Timothy Richardson	Uuw-felon poss/Use firearm prior	09/11/2025	Shawnee Correctional Center