Heidi Mueller

SPEAKER | LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF ILLINOIS, ISSUES BRIEFING 2023

Heidi Mueller was named the Director of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) in December of 2016. As director, she oversees the care, custody and services provided to youth committed to the Department by Illinois Courts. In this role, Director Mueller oversees five secure youth centers and eight Aftercare (juvenile parole) offices, along with five Day Reporting Centers located throughout Illinois. Along with Governor JB Pritzker and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, she is leading Illinois’ “21st Century Juvenile Justice Transformation Plan” to reimagine juvenile justice in Illinois over the next four years. Ms. Mueller previously served at the Department of Juvenile Justice as Deputy Director of Programs. In that role, she was responsible for Department's service-array and program-related policies, including healthcare, behavioral health services, vocational and recreational programming. 

Prior to joining IDJJ, Ms. Mueller served as the Director of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, advising the Governor and General Assembly regarding juvenile justice policy and practice and administering the state’s federal grant funding under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. Her background includes development and management of community programs for justice-involved youth, legal practice, front-line youth services, and social science research. 

Ms. Mueller earned a bachelor’s degree cum laude in psychology and history at Macalester College, completed graduate studies in social psychology at Stony Brook University and holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Council of Juvenile Justice Administrators, as well as the Advisory Board for the Illinois Justice Project and the Board of Directors for the Momentum Advisory Collective. She is co-chair of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Leadership Network and a member of the National Juvenile Justice Leadership Network through the Georgetown University Center for Juvenile Justice Reform.