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Illinois community outraged after Biden commutes sentence of fraudster behind $53M embezzlement scandal

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Illinois community outraged after Biden commutes sentence of fraudster behind M embezzlement scandal

President Biden added the woman behind the largest municipal embezzlement scandal in U.S. history to his list of clemency controversies, outraging a small Illinois community in the process.

The former Dixon, Illinois comptroller Rita Crundwell, 71, who stole nearly $54 million from the town over 22 years and pled guilty to the crime in 2012, had her sentence commuted as a part of a broader commutation last Thursday, making her one of 1,500 – the most ever granted by a president in a single day.

Local officials – and some state lawmakers – aren’t happy to see her getting off “scot-free.”

BIDEN COMMUTES SENTENCE OF OFFICIAL WHO STOLE $53M FROM SMALL ILLINOIS TOWN, SPARKING OUTRAGE

President Joe Biden speaks about an executive order in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, June 4, 2024. 

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“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, so what we’ve seen here over the last week is just unbelievable and really a complete betrayal by the federal criminal justice system,” Dixon city manager Danny Langloss told “Fox & Friends First” on Tuesday.

Langloss, who was the police chief at the time of Crundwell’s arrest, went on to say the rural Illinois community is “shocked,” “outraged,” and in “disbelief” over the news, calling her commutation “a complete disservice to all the victims of her crime” and to the “sanctity and the trust of the criminal justice system.”

Biden’s blanket move also commuted the prison sentence for a corrupt judge involved in the “cash-for-kids” scheme, who imposed sentences on juveniles in exchange for millions of dollars in return.

“This is lazy governance, and it’s really abuse of authority and power,” Langloss continued on Tuesday.

PENNSYLVANIA MOTHER INFURIATED AFTER BIDEN COMMUTES SENTENCE FOR ‘KIDS-FOR-CASH’ JUDGE: ‘RUINED MY SON’S LIFE’

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Rita Crundwell, former comptroller for the City of Dixon, Ill., turns away as her attorney briefly speaks with the media after Crundwell plead guilty in federal court in Rockford, Ill., on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/MCT)

“We’re outraged that Rita’s been released, but all the work I’ve done as a police officer around protecting children, alternatives to detention, the impact of detention on children, to have this judge walk free, to have a day taken off his sentence while they just really got this so wrong.”

A White House statement issued last week said the 1,500 commutations extend to people who were placed on “home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and who have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities.”

“These actions build on the President’s record of criminal justice reform to help reunite families, strengthen communities, and reintegrate individuals back into society. The President has issued more sentence commutations at this point in his presidency than any of his recent predecessors at the same point in their first terms,” the statement continued in part.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, speaking on the commutation last week, suggested the move focuses on the importance of “second chances.” 

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BIDEN’S FULL LIST OF CLEMENCY AND COMMUTATION RECIPIENTS REVEALED

Illinois Republican Rep. Darren LaHood also criticized the “sweeping” commutation in a statement.

“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,” he said. “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 was also critical.

“She pleaded guilty, got the max sentence, but then only served eight years,” he said in a Facebook post. 

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“Getting off scot-free today is such a load of BS.”

Biden has faced a steady stream of criticism in recent weeks over the pardon for his son, Hunter, and other prison commutations, including for a corrupt Pennsylvania judge convicted of accepting kickbacks in exchange for sentencing minors to juvenile detention. 

Fox News’ Bailee Hill contributed to this report.

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Wisconsin

Sister Bay, Wisconsin: 2026 USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards

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Sister Bay, Wisconsin: 2026 USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards


Located in scenic Door County, Wisconsin, the town of Sister Bay is a waterfront town directly on Green Bay. Outdoor enthusiasts head to Sister Bay for its access to hiking trails, nature preserves, and water pursuits such as boating, fishing, and ice-skating during winter. The town hosts a number of seasonal festivals including a film fest, marina fest, outdoor concert series, and the Door County Festival of Fine Arts. The annual Roofing of the Goats Parade is a popular event tied to Al Johnson’s, a local restaurant known for goats that graze on its rooftop during summer months.



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Midwest

Terrifying moment caught on camera as road collapse suddenly swallows vehicles at busy intersection

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Terrifying moment caught on camera as road collapse suddenly swallows vehicles at busy intersection

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Dramatic video showed the moment a road collapsed below two unsuspecting motorists near the University of Nebraska-Omaha Tuesday, sending their vehicles feet below ground.

Footage taken by university security cameras appeared to show the two vehicles rolling up to an intersection, side-by-side, before a car pulled up behind them, seemingly triggering the collapse.

Emergency crews responded to the incident at 67th and Pacific streets at about 3:30 p.m., local outlet WOWT reported.

The collapse appeared to be triggered by a pickup truck behind the two cars. (UNO Public Safety/TMX)

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The vehicles’ occupants had escaped the hole by the time authorities arrived.

“This caught everybody by surprise,” University of Nebraska-Omaha Public Safety Lt. Dan Martin told the outlet.

Dust could be seen as the vehicles fell into the pavement. (UNO Public Safety/TMX)

SOUTH KOREAN TOURISTS DISAPPEAR DURING ROAD TRIP BETWEEN GRAND CANYON, LAS VEGAS 

No injuries were reported, though WOWT reported a water main broke during the collapse.

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It is unclear what led to the collapse.

The outlet reported a heavy-duty tow truck with a crane retrieved the cars a few hours later, and crews worked to pull concrete from the crater.

It is unclear what led to the road collapse. (UNO Public Safety/TMX)

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Martin warned the sinkhole could expand, though it appears no additional sinkholes had been spotted as of Wednesday night.

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Officials told WOWT the street will remain closed for “several days,” and motorists should avoid the area.

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Detroit, MI

Michigan State Police sends message to drivers after trooper involved in hit and run:

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Michigan State Police sends message to drivers after trooper involved in hit and run:


“Slow down and move over” is the message that Michigan State Police is sending to drivers after one of its troopers in a parked patrol car was struck while investigating a crash this weekend. The driver of that vehicle fled the scene.

Michigan State Police tells CBS News Detroit that we’re two months into the year, and it has had six incidents across the state where patrol cars were struck by oncoming vehicles. One of those incidents occurred on Sunday evening.

“Could have been much more tragic,” said MSP Lieutenant Rene Gonzalez, First District public information officer.

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Michigan State Police


Gonzalez says on Sunday, an MSP trooper was near M-10 and Schaefer Highway in Detroit, simply doing his job, when his patrol car was hit from behind.

“Trooper was out there, and he was investigating a crash when, at the time, a Jeep SUV drove into the rear of the parked vehicle,” Gonzalez said.

The impact slid the trooper’s car into a concrete wall. The 29-year-old Detroit woman driving the Jeep SUV struck the center median, got out of the vehicle, and ran away.

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“Not sure why they did it. Maybe not paying attention if they were distracted. They’re attempting to locate her at this time,” said Lt. Gonzalez.

The trooper walked away with minor injuries. Gonzalez says this incident is an example of why Michigan’s Move Over Law was put in place many years ago. The law, which went into effect in 2019, requires drivers to move over into the next lane and reduce their speed by at least 10 mph when emergency or service vehicles — police, fire, rescue, ambulance and road service — have their lights activated. 

Drivers who are not able to move over are still required to reduce their speed.

“Trying to do our jobs, however, people are not paying attention. The law is easy. It’s simple. You see us, you see our lights activated, you have to slow down ten miles below the posted speed limit, and then if able, move over to the next occupied available lane,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez says crashes like this can be deadly and often avoided.

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“One life lost over something that was a totally preventable crash, it’s way too much. We’re asking that you slow down and move over when you see our lights. It’s a simple message that we’ve been pushing out for years,” he said.

Sunday’s crash remains under investigation. Michigan State Police detectives are still working to track down the 29-year-old suspect.

In the meantime, police are out enforcing the Move Over Law.



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