Illinois Juvenile Justice Head Steps Down

Governor Pat Quinn is replacing the head of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice which runs the state's youth prisons.

Kirk Friedenauer has headed up the agency since its inception in 2006.

That's when the Illinois legislature separated the youth prisons from the adult department of corrections with the idea that the state should treat kids, and rehabilitate them.

But the Blagojevich administration didn't give the agency any additional money and little progress was made.

In a recent interview with Chicago public radio station WBEZ, Friedenauer said, "Change that is meant to last and meant to endure, especially within the public arena, is a process, it's not an event, and it has to be one step at a time as fast as you can get there and we're gonna have setbacks."

Quinn says Friedenauer's departure is one part of his plan to move the youth prisons into the treatment focused department of Children and Family Services.

Quinn says he'll announce a new director shortly.