President Joe Biden’s decision to commute the sentence of Rita Crundwell, the woman behind the largest municipal embezzlement scandal in U.S. history, has ignited outrage in the small community of Dixon, Illinois. Crundwell, the former Dixon comptroller, stole nearly $54 million from the town over 22 years before pleading guilty in 2012. Her commutation was part of a broader action last Thursday, where Biden granted clemency to 1,500 individuals — the most ever issued by a president in a single day.
Dixon city officials and state lawmakers have expressed anger over Crundwell’s early release. City manager Danny Langloss, who was the police chief during Crundwell’s arrest, told Fox & Friends First on Tuesday, “Rita’s crime absolutely shocks the conscience… at her sentencing on February 14th, 2013, [the judge] said that a significant prison sentence was essential to reestablish public trust and confidence. What we’ve seen here over the last week is just unbelievable and really a complete betrayal by the federal criminal justice system.”
Langloss described the community’s reaction as “shocked,” “outraged,” and in “disbelief,” calling the commutation a “complete disservice to all the victims of her crime” and to “the sanctity and trust of the criminal justice system.”
Biden’s sweeping commutation order also included a corrupt judge involved in the infamous “cash-for-kids” scandal, where juveniles were sentenced in exchange for kickbacks. Langloss criticized these actions, calling it “lazy governance” and an “abuse of authority and power.”
The White House justified the move, stating that the commutations apply to individuals on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic who have “successfully reintegrated into their families and communities.” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the decision, emphasizing the importance of “second chances.”
Illinois Republican Rep. Darren LaHood condemned the decision, saying, “While many families in Dixon were living paycheck to paycheck, she took advantage of their trust in government and used her access to live an unearned life of luxury, in what the FBI still believes to be the largest theft of public funds in U.S. history. Commuting her 20-year sentence is a slap in the face to all the hardworking police officers, firefighters, city workers, and residents of Dixon.”
Democratic Rep. Eric Sorensen also criticized the commutation, noting on Facebook, “She pleaded guilty, got the max sentence, but then only served eight years. Getting off scot-free today is such a load of BS.”
Biden has faced mounting criticism for recent clemency decisions, including the pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, and the commutation of a corrupt Pennsylvania judge who accepted kickbacks for sentencing minors to juvenile detention. These moves have fueled concerns about the fairness and integrity of the criminal justice system.
