Rep. Ron Sandack on Preventing Another Dixon-Style Embezzlement

Rep. Sandack on the House Floor

The embezzlement and fraud that occurred in Dixon, Illinois is almost impossible to believe.  Over $30 million embezzled over 6 years, by a single government employee all from a town that only had an annual average budget of $8 million.  While most news outlets focused on the accused’s extravagant lifestyle and lavish hobbies, the more concerning story to me was how did this happen and how do we protect taxpayers in the future.

The answer, in one word:  Transparency.


Transparency serves as a sort of disinfectant to graft, corruption and fraud.  The more access the public has to information, the more responsible government will be.

The State of Illinois has moved swiftly to open access to information.  Both watchdog groups and government officials are providing endless streams of data on state contracts, spending and salaries.  I believed that it was necessary for taxpayers to have that same type of data available from them for their own hometown.  That’s why I worked with House Republican Leader Tom Cross to develop a new transparency initiative to provide taxpayers with even greater insight into how their tax dollars are spent.

Reboot Illinois has the rest of the story.