In a move that redefines the concept of “mercy” into a punchline, Joe Biden has decided to use his presidential clemency powers with all the wisdom of a child playing king for a day. Enter Rita Crundwell, the queen of embezzlement, who pilfered over $53 million from the good folks of Dixon, Illinois, to fund her little horse show fantasy. And what does Biden do? He grants her clemency. Clemency! For someone who turned a small town’s trust into her personal piggy bank.
This isn’t just an abuse of power; it’s a mockery of justice. Biden, in his infinite “wisdom,” has decided that a woman who committed one of the largest municipal thefts in U.S. history deserves a second chance. But not just any second chance—this is the kind where you get to walk free while the community you devastated gets to pick up the pieces with an extra layer of salt in their wounds.
Dixon Officials Decry Commutation of Former Comptroller Rita Crundwell,
Who Embezzled Almost $54M in Public Funds: ‘It’s Not Justice’
Rita Crundwell infamously charted a new chapter in Illinois’ storied corruption saga by committing what the FBI believes to be the largest theft of public funds in U.S. history.
Now she’s part of history again.
She’s among the 1,500 “non-violent offenders” whose sentence was commuted Thursday by President Joe Biden, in the nation’s largest single-day act of clemency.
The commutation means Crundwell’s is getting a reprieve from the nearly 20-year sentence handed down in 2013 for stealing almost $54 million when she was serving as comptroller for the city of Dixon, a community of 15,000 an hour and a half west of Chicago where President Ronald Reagan grew up.
For many in Dixon, the move was not a welcome one.
“This definitely cuts the scar open. It’s not a scab, it’s a scar. It’s a deep one,” said Dixon City Manager Danny Langloss, who was the city’s police chief when Crundwell’s theft was discovered. “At a time when the federal government is the least trusted institution in the country, to do something like this?”
Langloss said as a former police officer who fundamentally values justice, he considers the commutation a travesty.
What message are we sending here? That if you steal enough, if you do it with enough flair, you too can get a pass? This isn’t rehabilitation; it’s a slap in the face to every hardworking American, every small town that’s ever trusted its officials. Biden’s clemency list reads like a who’s who of “how to get away with it,” starring Rita Crundwell in the lead role of financial betrayal.
And let’s not forget, this isn’t just about one act of clemency; it’s about a pattern where Biden seems to think that being a non-violent thief somehow equates to being a good citizen. It’s as if he’s saying, “Oh, you didn’t physically hurt anyone while you were siphoning millions from taxpayers? Here’s your get-out-of-jail-free card.”
This decision doesn’t just undermine the rule of law; it mocks it. It tells victims that their suffering doesn’t matter, that their trust was just a hurdle for someone’s personal gain. And to cap it all off, Biden does this with the same sanctimonious air of a politician who thinks he’s doing the public a favor.
So, to the citizens of Dixon and anyone who believes in justice, Biden’s clemency for Crundwell isn’t just a mistake; it’s a travesty. It’s a declaration that in Biden’s America, if you’re cunning enough, you can steal with impunity, and all it takes is a presidential pen to erase your crimes. Shameful. Utterly shameful.