A study of Illinois criminal courts from 1973 to 1977 obtained dispositional, crime, political, socioeconomic, and structural data on all counties except Cook County. The study compared counties' propensity to send convicted defendants to the State penitentiary, making allowances for the seriousness of the offenses addressed. Judges' sentencing practices changed significantly in the 1970's, largely in response to community 'get-tough' pressures. Also, marked disparities in incarceration rates existed among downstate counties, producing a maldistribution of State penal resources. Counties with scarce local resources tended to be high consumers of State resources. Counties< incarceration rates had little impact on their crime rates. One way to encourage county courts to use local corrections alternatives instead of the State prison would be to shift the funding of local corrections programs to the State. A second approach would be to allocate available prison spaces to counties in accordance with a formula based on such factors as population and crime clearances. The only approach that would address the overuse of State penal cells, preserve local control, and enhance correctional creativity and accountability would be to shift the cost of imprisonment for nonmandated offenses to the county. 7 tables, 4 graphs, and 26 footnotes.