From 2012 to 2023, for every 10 white people booked at the Champaign County jail, 17 nonwhite people were booked.  

CU-CitizenAccess.org obtained years of jail booking data from the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office, which was obtained through multiple Freedom of Information Act requests. The data contained information about each person booked from Jan. 1, 2012, to Aug. 31, 2024, including the arrested person’s age, race, sex, the crime committed, date booked and more. Arrested persons were identified by their booking number to account for those jailed on multiple charges. 

Since 2012, Black people have consistently made up around 13% of Champaign County’s population, white people between 65 and 70%, Hispanic people 6% and Asian people 11%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

But over the 12-year period, data shows Black people made up 55% of bookings, white people 37%, Hispanic people 5% and Asian people 1%.

This year’s data, from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, showed a greater proportion of nonwhite people being booked. While the proportion of Black and Asian people booked this year is about the same, the proportion of Hispanic people booked rose to 8% and white people decreased to 32%. 

Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman said the jail population reflects the two ways people are booked into jail: “as remanded into custody by the court” or “arrestees brought in by law enforcement agencies.”

“I do not have discretion on who I hold or release,” Heuerman said in an email. “So, jail population reflects this. With pretrial reform, ability to post bond is no longer a factor.”

According to the booking data, which includes information on just over 111,000 charges, the most common crimes listed include domestic battery, traffic offenses, theft and driving under the influence. 

Advocates say data is “unsurprising”

James Kilgore, a formerly incarcerated person, is the director of advocacy and outreach at First Followers, a re-entry program in Champaign that aims to support formerly incarcerated people in their transition from prison. He said the continued problem of racial disparities in arrests in Champaign County is not surprising. 

“This is not something new,” Kilgore said. “This is part of the structure of racism in the country.” 

Even in the past five years, from the beginning of 2020 to August this year, the demographics of people booked are relatively unchanged compared to the 12-year period. In those five years, Black people made up 57% of arrests, white people 35%, Hispanic people 6% and Asian people 1%. 

He said several factors contribute to this problem, including racial profiling in traffic stops and inequalities in drug law enforcement. He added that the effects of this issue are wide. 

“Incarceration not only impacts the people that are locked up, but it impacts their family,” Kilgore said. “It takes away people who might be contributing to the family’s financial resources, it takes fathers and mothers away from their children, it disrupts communities and families and puts other burdens on them.” 

Brian Dolinar, a local community advocate, said part of why this problem is persisting is because of a lack of jobs, access and opportunity for Black people and other people of color in the county. He said while Champaign County is home to the University of Illinois, it’s “far out of reach from most African Americans that grew up here in this town.” 

Dolinar said while reforms relating to incarceration have passed throughout the state, the county has been resistant to reform measures, including the more recent Pretrial Fairness Act, causing the county to lag in progress and see higher rates of Black people being incarcerated. 

“We have to question why these numbers are going up in the face of reforms that are taking place throughout the state,” Dolinar said.