“Who Cares?” We All Should.

Let’s address the obvious: some reading this will shrug and ask, “Who cares? It’s just garage sales.”

To those people, we say — everyone should care. And here’s why:

Freeport has become a city almost entirely reliant on state and federal grant funding. We no longer function like a self-sufficient municipality. We have leaders who don’t lead — they chase handouts and ignore enforcement of existing law, all while claiming “fiscal responsibility.”

We were in the room when all eight alderpersons, the mayor, the city manager, and—for reasons still unexplained—Fehr Graham’s Darin Stykel debated whether to approve a basic request from the Freeport Police Department for more streetlights.

Instead of finding a way to say “yes” to public safety, Mayor Jodi Miller argued against putting up lights in high-crime, low-income areas, saying she couldn’t justify it unless her side of town got new lights too. That’s the kind of leadership we’re dealing with.

Missed Opportunity or Strategic Neglect?

This isn’t just about cluttered neighborhoods or fairness. It’s about the broader failure of leadership and a refusal to think creatively about solutions.

Imagine if Freeport took enforcement seriously—not punitively, but purposefully. Fines from rampant garage sale violations could be earmarked for specific needs:

• Street lighting in underserved areas

• Code enforcement clean-up crews

• Subsidizing utility relief programs

• Beautification of public parks

Instead, we get inconsistency and chaos. One resident is cited for grass an inch too tall, while their neighbor holds their seventh Sunday garage sale of the year with no consequence. Meanwhile, small businesses like our “countless” thrift stores—who play by the rules and pay taxes—are left wondering why the city lets others skirt regulation.

This is a leadership problem.