New Jersey vs. Northern Illinois

What This New Jersey vs. Northern Illinois Comparison Reveals

In FY2025, the New Jersey District (3rd Circuit) handled 673 federal sentencings with an average imposed term of 55.0 months, while the Northern Illinois District (7th Circuit) handled 587 cases at an average of 73.6 months. That is a 18.6-month gap - the Northern District sentences longer on average. Case volume alone tells part of the story: New processed roughly 1.1× more defendants than Northern, which affects guideline compliance patterns and the mix of offenses each court sees.

Guideline compliance diverges as well. Among cases with a determinable guideline range, New Jersey sentenced 27% within the range, 3% above, and 70% below. In Northern Illinois, the corresponding figures were 29% within, 4% above, and 68% below. Guilty-plea rates ran at 82% vs. 84%, and prison-sentence rates at 81% vs. 91% respectively, metrics that capture both charging practice and judicial discretion across the two courts.

Set against the nationwide benchmark for the same offense mix, New Jersey ran a disparity of -16.7% and Northern Illinois ran +25.9%. That comparison adjusts for the offense mix each district actually handles, so it isolates court-level patterns from pure caseload composition. Readers should still treat these as aggregate descriptive statistics, individual cases turn on criminal history, specific guideline adjustments, cooperation agreements, and statutory mandatory minimums that the district averages cannot resolve. This data is presented for research and educational purposes only and is not legal advice.