Heinz Rudolf was elected Circuit Judge in 2018 by the voters of the 20th Judicial Circuit. Heinz has served as a judge for nearly 20 years. He is currently assigned to Major Civil matters and has presided over 86 jury trials to verdict.

Judge Rudolf obtained a joint degree from Saint Louis University Law and Graduate School (J.D. and M.A.P.A.) in 1995. Heinz later earned a Ph. D in Public Policy Analysis and Administration in 2002. While in the doctoral program, Heinz worked as an Assistant State's Attorney followed by working as an Assistant Public Defender. Prior to his appointment to the bench in 2006, Heinz was an associate at the law firm of Becker, Paulson, Hoerner and Thompson, P.C. where he concentrated on civil defense trial litigation.

Heinz was elected to the St. Clair County Board in 2002 and served until his appointment to the bench. Heinz has served as a member of the Illinois Judicial Conference Committee on Education and continues to teach at the biennial Judicial Education Conferences.

Heinz has served on the Children First Foundation Board since 2008. He completed extensive coursework over several years to become an Advanced Science and Technology Resource (A.S.T.A.R.) Fellow in 2009. He has presented at seminars hosted by the Illinois Judicial College (Advanced Judicial Academy), St. Clair County Bar Association, Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, A.O.I.C., I.I.C.L.E., I.T.L.A., Illinois Defense Council, and the I.S.B.A. Prior to closure of the Belleville campus, Heinz taught as an Adjunct Professor for Lindenwood University classes in Criminal Law and Procedure. In addition to his current judicial assignment, Heinz routinely mediates major civil, miscellaneous remedies, family and custody matters when requested by parties and his judicial colleagues.

In 2019, Heinz received the Land of Lincoln’s Joseph R. Bartylak Award and an Outreach Award by the Illinois Judges Association for his outreach to students regarding the pitfalls of cyberbullying, AI issues, and underage drinking. Since 2017, Heinz has presented to over 90 grade and high schools regarding the personal and legal consequences of improper social media use.

In June 2023, Heinz was appointed to the Illinois Judges Association’s Board of Directors. In December 2023, Heinz was selected by Illinois Supreme Court Justice David Overstreet as one of the recipients of the Illinois Judges Association’s Presidential Service Award. In February 2025, Heinz coordinated with local, state, and Freeburg School District in several students testifying in Springfield before the Illinois State Senate Education Committee in a call for action regarding the challenges those students and their peers have witnessed with improper social media use. In May 2025, such collaboration led to the adoption of State Senate Resolution 5 (SR5) introduced by Senator Christopher Belt which brings critical attention to digital safety for Illinois K-12 students. In May 2025, Heinz received the Richard A. Hudlin Award for this commitment to service. Heinz and his wife have two children.