Rita Crundwell

Explore Shaw Local’s in-depth reporting on Rita Crundwell’s trial, the city’s financial recovery, commutation by President Biden, and the ongoing legacy of this unprecedented scandal

Bielema: Rita Crundwell's commutation was a miscarriage of justice and she should have had to the pay the full price in the name of fairness to her victims – the same ones she stole from year, after year, after year.

Rita Crundwell, the former Dixon city comptroller convicted of embezzling $53.7 million from the city – pegged as the largest municipal theft in U.S. history – is among one of roughly 1,500 people granted clemency by President Joe Biden just weeks before he leaves office.

“We’ve grown and changed for the better in leaps and bounds,” Mayor Li Arellano Jr. said. “We’re not done, and there’s more to do."

Not notifying officials about Rita Crundwell's release “created an unstable environment for our community,” Dixon mayor says

Here’s a breakdown of how much has been recovered, spent and earmarked for the future.

“It’s unacceptable that we didn’t have a voice in this decision.”

Prison officials and the judiciary must not yield to this master manipulator. Let her continue to repay the aggrieved citizens of Dixon from behind bars, where she belongs.

Last week, the disgraced city comptroller became known as federal inmate 44540-424 after she was ordered to serve a prison sentence in a case that officials have called the largest municipal fraud in U.S. history.

The attorney representing convicted federal felon Rita Crundwell in her state theft case filed a motion this Wednesday afternoon asking a judge to toss the case, citing potential double jeopardy.

A former city bookkeeper was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison Thursday for embezzling more than $53 million from her Illinois community, in what ranks as one of the worst abuses of public trust in the state’s corruption-rich history.

Saying she is “truly sorry,” a tearful Rita Crundwell was sentenced this morning to 19 years, 7 months in federal prison for pulling off what may be the biggest municipal theft in U.S. history.

Former Dixon comptroller Rita Crundwell faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday morning to a single charge of federal wire fraud.

Do you always wonder why something is the way it is? Or whom a road was named after? Let me know, and I’ll try to answer your queries in my weekly Dateline Dixon column.

Former Dixon Comptroller Rita A. Crundwell pleaded not guilty to federal wire fraud.

Because last week’s Q&A column on the arrest of Dixon’s former comptroller, Rita Crundwell, and the ensuing confusion was such a hit, I decided to give it another go.

Accused of stealing $53 million from the city of Dixon, former city Comptroller Rita A. Crundwell pleaded not guilty to federal wire fraud Monday morning.

The council chambers at Dixon City Hall were filled to capacity Monday evening as the City Council held its first regularly scheduled meeting since the arrest of the city’s top finance officer.

Former Dixon Comptroller Rita A. Crundwell pleaded not guilty to federal wire fraud Monday morning.

Rita A. Crundwell did not object in court to the U.S. Marshals Service taking over her Dixon ranch.

Wearing what appeared to be the same butterfly bejeweled clip and shiny beige trench coat, Rita A. Crundwell did not object to the U.S. Marshals Service taking over her Dixon ranch.

Standing in the doorway of Mayor Jim Burke’s office, City Clerk Kathe Swanson showed him a bank statement for an account neither of them said they knew existed.

It may be a tiny drop in a very big bucket, but the city may collect $150,000 through a fidelity bond and other insurance it had on its comptroller.

Although she submitted a letter of resignation, Dixon’s top financial officer was fired Monday morning at a special council meeting that also was punctuated by another call for the mayor’s resignation.

Although Rita Crundwell submitted a letter of resignation, Dixon’s top financial officer was fired Monday morning at a special council meeting that also was punctuated by another call for the mayor’s resignation.

“For an embezzlement or fraud of that amount to occur in a town like Dixon is huge,” said Chicago attorney Joel Levin, now a defense attorney who deals with white collar crimes, among others.

A day after the arrest of Dixon’s top financial officer – who’s accused of stealing $30 million from city coffers – the mayor laid out a six-point plan to address the situation and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Dixon comptroller Rita A. Crundwell, accused of stealing more than $30 million from the city, walked out the front door of the federal courthouse Wednesday night.