They Raised Your Taxes. Now They Want Another $1 Million.

Freeport fast-tracks $1 million withdrawal with no discussion, no oversight, and no accountability

April 8, 2026 — Freeport, Illinois

A $1 Million Decision—Without a Word

Eight elected alderpeople sat in their seats Monday night, representing the taxpayers of Freeport.

When the vote was called, each responded the same way.

“Aye.”

There were no questions. No debate. No explanation.

With that, the Freeport City Council approved a $1 million transfer from General Fund reserves—a direct withdrawal from the City’s financial safety net.

Not a single elected official said a word.

The Vote Was Rushed—By Design

This was not just a quiet vote. It was a controlled one.

Council voted to suspend the rules, bypassing the standard ordinance process designed to ensure transparency and allow time for review. Under normal procedure, an ordinance is introduced, discussed, and brought back at a later meeting for final approval.

That process was eliminated.

The ordinance was introduced and passed in the same meeting.

Even more concerning, City staff never brought this item before the Committee of the Whole (COW)—the very place where detailed discussion, financial breakdowns, and public questioning are supposed to occur before items reach full Council.

That step was skipped entirely.

No Committee review. No public vetting. No time for scrutiny.

For a $1 million decision, that is not oversight.

That is avoidance.

What They Just Approved

The ordinance authorizes the City to transfer $1,000,000 from General Fund reserves into the Street Fund to cover its share of a federally funded road project.

The total project cost is approximately $2.8 million, with federal funds covering 80 percent. Once contingency and engineering costs are included, the City’s obligation rises to just under $1 million.

So the City went to its savings.

You Already Paid for This

That decision would be routine—if not for what residents were told just two years ago.

In 2024, Mayor Jodi Miller—casting the deciding vote—along with members of the City Council, implemented a 1% sales tax increase, presenting it as the solution to Freeport’s failing infrastructure.

Residents were told the tax would generate millions annually and would be used specifically to fund road improvements and ensure the City could meet matching requirements for projects like this.

The promise was simple: pay more now so the City would be prepared later.

Now that moment has arrived.

And the money that was supposed to be there is not being used.

Instead, the City is pulling from reserves.

Where Did the Money Go?

That question has been building for more than a year.

Financial records reviewed in 2025 showed that millions of dollars had already been spent from the Street Improvement Fund shortly after the tax was implemented. Significant payments were made to engineering firm Fehr Graham, including costs labeled as street improvements despite the absence of visible construction.

Some expenditures appeared tied to prior-year obligations, raising concerns that new tax revenue had been used to cover old liabilities rather than fund future projects.

At the time, those concerns were raised publicly.

Now, they are no longer theoretical.

No Answers. No Accountability. No Discussion.

Monday night was the moment to explain it.

It didn’t happen.

There was no breakdown of current fund balances. No explanation of how much revenue the 1% tax has generated. No reconciliation of how those funds have been spent.

There was no discussion at all.

Just eight votes.

“Aye.”

Analysis | Joshua T. Atkinson, Chairman – Fighting4Freeport

This is not new. It was warned. It was proven. And now it is happening again.

During my mayoral campaign, I made this issue central—warning that the City’s financial practices lacked transparency and that taxpayers were being asked to trust promises that were not being backed by action.

After the election, that concern was confirmed. Through FOIA requests and financial review, it was exposed that within the first year of the Miller administration’s 1% sales tax, the very promise used to justify raising taxes had already been broken.

The money was not preserved the way it was presented to the public.

Millions collected. Millions spent. No clear explanation.

Now here we are again.

The project has arrived. The funding is in place. And instead of using the revenue stream created for this exact purpose, the City is reaching into reserves.

At this point, it is no longer enough to point to the Mayor, the City Manager, or outside firms. Their actions have been exposed repeatedly, in detail, for over two years. The information has been made public. The documentation has been provided. The pattern has been clear.

The responsibility now sits with the City Council.

Eight elected officials had the opportunity to stop, question, or even acknowledge what was happening.

They said nothing.

Whether they failed to recognize it or chose not to engage does not change the outcome. They approved it.

And in doing so, they allowed the continued erosion of financial accountability in this city.

This is how a community becomes distressed—not through one decision, but through repeated decisions where oversight is absent, questions go unasked, and responsibility is avoided.

At the end of the day, the result is straightforward.

Taxes go up.
Promises go unmet.
And when the money isn’t there, the City reaches into your savings to cover it.