As a result of the recalculation of good time credits in view of the Illinois Supreme Court decision in Johnson vs. Franzen, 466 inmates involved in this decision were released early in December 1979. Audits of the rate of return of these 466 inmates conducted at 6 and 11 months following their release showed that 14 (3 percent) had returned at 6 months, and that 42 (9 percent) had returned to a State corrections facility at 11 months. Subsequent to the early releases as a consequence of the Johnson vs. Franzen decision, the director of the Illinois Department of Corrections instituted an early release program by awarding meritorious good time to selected inmates in response to continued growth of the prison population. An analysis of the return rate of a sample of 248 out of the 2,125 inmates released since June 6, 1980, under this program shows that over a 6-month period, 25 (10.8 percent) had returned to prison, compared to 3 percent for the Johnson vs. Franzen group at 6 months and 9 percent at 11 months. Due to differences in group size, the times between release and audit, and release criteria, no conclusions can be drawn. Other trackings of early releases will be required for comparison of early release returns to establish a general estimate of an overall return rate. Seven data tables and two figures are provided.