Clay County Offender Gets Seven Years in Prison 

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Clay County State’s Attorney Phillip M. Givens has announced that Michael Phillips, 39, of Louisville, Illinois, was sentenced to time in the Illinois Department of Corrections on October 1, 2025, in Clay County Circuit Court for violating the terms and conditions of his probation, and for possessing firearms by a felon.

Phillips was previously placed on 24 months of probation for Aggravated Domestic Battery, a Class 2 Felony, on June 4, 2025, after spending 62 days in the Clay County Jail. Phillips violated his probation by failing to comply with the provision of not possessing firearms and failing to report as directed. He was also charged with a new Class 2 Felony for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. He admitted to violating his probation on October 1, 2025, and was sentenced to 4 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Phillips will have to serve 85 percent of that sentence and will have a 4-year period of Mandatory Supervised Release to follow. Phillips also pled guilty to the charge of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, a Class 2
Felony.

The charges alleged that on August 28, 2025, Phillips knowingly possessed firearms, being handguns, rifles and shotguns, after having a prior conviction of Aggravated Domestic Battery, a forcible
felony. On October 1, 2025, Phillips was sentenced to 7 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. He will have a 1-year period of Mandatory Supervised Release to follow. The initial investigation was conducted by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and the probation violations were conducted by the Clay County Probation Department.

State’s Attorney Phillip Givens said: “The Clay County Sheriff’s Office worked swiftly once receiving reports of Phillips possibly possessing firearms. The Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Clay County Probation worked well together to find the firearms and keep the community safe. My office and I commend both departments for their hard work.”