Dixon officials keep pursuing information on Crundwell’s release

DIXON — Officials still are trying to figure out why they weren’t notified of the release of the ex-comptroller convicted of embezzling $53.7 million from the city, and advocate for reversing the judgment.

Rita Crundwell was sentenced to 19 years and 7 months in federal prison in 2013 for bilking the city over two decades to fund a lavish lifestyle and quarter horse breeding empire while the city built up debt and infrastructure continued to deteriorate. Her sentence was just shy of the 20-year maximum, and she was required to serve at least 85%.

That was until she left the Pekin prison on Aug. 4, a situation that remains a bit murky.

The Bureau of Prisons does not release the whereabouts of released inmates, but she’s listed as staying in a halfway house in Chicago under the custody of the BOP. According to the BOP website, her term still does not end until Oct. 20, 2029.

She was in Dixon at least for a short while, though, information Mayor Li Arellano Jr. said was “pretty much verified.”

The lack of notification to city officials, local law enforcement and others coupled with the rumors circulating about her release “created an unstable environment for our community,” Arellano said.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the community that worked up, and they have a right to be,” he said.

If there’s a way to get Crundwell back behind bars, the city will lobby for it.

There’s still the questions of how the process went down, and why the city didn’t have a chance to be part of it.

Crundwell applied for compassionate release last year citing health issues and fears of contracting COVID-19, and the city sent a letter strongly opposing her release. She then pursued a more private course of review with the prison.

Arellano and City Manager Danny Langloss reached out to several lawmakers, and they were told by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin that Crundwell was on home-confinement on Aug. 4. Supposedly, the BOP sent out notifications of her impending release on July 7. It’s not clear who received the notifications.

“We do not believe she is in Dixon at this time,” Langloss said.

Durbin’s office also confirmed that Crundwell was released under the auspices of the Cares Act, passed in 2020 in response to COVID-19. It allows for the early release of nonviolent prisoners who meet certain criteria, such as their age, health, the nature of their crime and whether they are likely to offend again.

Even though the situation is an outrage to the city and community members, Langloss said they can’t let her have any more negative impact than she’s already inflicted.

The city plans to move ahead with its economic development streak, which includes grants for infrastructure improvements, interested industries looking to come to town, at least one new hotel on the horizon, and soon annexing more than 500 acres into the Dixon footprint.