A circuit court judge in Sangamon County threatened Tuesday to begin assessing daily fines against the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services for its repeated failure to appear in court or comply with orders to hand over documents related to the death of a teenager who was in the agency’s care.
Judge Jack Davis II issued an order for DCFS Director Heidi Mueller to appear personally at a September 9 hearing to show cause why she and the agency should not continue to be held in contempt over repeated refusals to appear in court or comply with orders to produce records related to an 18-year-old girl who died while in foster care in 2024.
Capitol News Illinois sued for access to the personnel records of two caseworkers and one supervisor who were responsible for monitoring Mackenzi Felmlee, the girl who died. She was found struggling to breathe at the bottom of the basement stairs in a Fairview Heights foster home.
Her foster mother, Shemeka Williams, and foster grandmother, Cornelia Reid, are charged with murder in connection with Mackenzi’s death. Both are currently being held in the St. Clair County Jail.
