Former longtime Dixon treasurer Rita Crundwell entered a not-guilty plea in Lee County criminal court Wednesday to 60 counts of theft tied to her alleged embezzlement of $53 million from city coffers over more than two decades.



Crundwell, 59, appeared before Judge Ronald Jacobson for her arraignment on the felony counts, a spokeswoman for Lee County State's Attorney Henry Dixon said.



Crundwell faces charges on two fronts. She was first indicted by federal prosecutors in April on a single count of wire fraud. In that prosecution, federal authorities have already raised more than $7 million by auctioning off her luxury motor home and nearly 400 quarter horses owned by Crundwell as part of her championship breeding operation. Much of that money could go to Dixon if Crundwell is convicted on the federal charge.



More recently, prosecutors in Lee County brought the theft charges against Crundwell in connection with 60 allegedly illegal transfers between city accounts and accounts allegedly controlled by Crundwell that took place between January 2010 and Crundwell's April arrest. Crundwell had been treasurer since 1983 for the northwestern Illinois city best known as the boyhood home of President Ronald Reagan.



Each transfer involved sums ranging from $100,000 to $350,000, authorities said. If convicted, each count carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years. The federal fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.



agrimm@tribune.com