Grounded in Secrecy: How Freeport’s Airport Became the Center of a Scandal That Could Rock Illinois Politics
FREEPORT, IL – August 28, 2025
A Year of Warnings, Now Proven True
For more than a year, then-mayoral candidate and now State Senate candidate Joshua T. Atkinson warned the people of Freeport that Mayor Jodi Miller and her City Manager, William (Rob) Boyer III, were preparing a quiet takeover of Albertus Municipal Airport.
He spoke about harassment of the airport manager, the daughter of Freeport’s longest-serving airport chief. He flagged taxpayer dollars diverted away from safety equipment toward Fehr Graham vanity projects. He warned that the Miller administration was maneuvering to hand airport operations to private insiders, stripping oversight from City Council and the public.
At the time, his critics dismissed these claims as political bluster. Today, documents obtained by Fighting4Freeport prove Atkinson was right all along.
The Harassment Campaign
The power grab didn’t start with paperwork — it began with harassment.
Multiple sources confirm that City Manager Rob Boyer and Darin Stykel — Fehr Graham senior project manager who simultaneously serves as Freeport’s Public Works Director — undermined the airport manager at every turn.
Restricted Access: The airport manager was denied entry to certain hangars, despite her official responsibility to oversee them.
Withheld Safety Funds: Money needed to repair the airport’s electronic weather reporting system was withheld, leaving the public at risk.
Diverted Priorities: Instead of addressing critical maintenance, Boyer and Stykel funneled taxpayer funds into Fehr Graham-led “vanity projects.”
The pattern was clear: weaken the airport from within, isolate its leadership, and prepare the ground for privatization.
One pilot described it bluntly:
“It felt like they were trying to force her out, to break the legacy of her family’s service and replace it with their own hand-picked operator.”
The RFQ: A Contract Written in the Dark
On August 11, 2025, the City of Freeport issued a Request for Quotations (RFQ) for airport management. The document looked ordinary, but the details told a different story:
Length of Control: A one-year agreement with automatic renewals up to 19 years.
Qualifications: “Preferred Offerors will have a current pilot’s license,” a requirement unrelated to airport administration.
Centralized Authority: All oversight tied directly to City Manager Boyer.
Transparency Shield: The RFQ stated the City “makes no representation as to the applicability of FOIA,” language legal experts say is flatly unlawful.
This wasn’t about routine management. It was about consolidating power, removing Council oversight, and cutting the public out entirely.
Addenda That Closed the Door
Addendum No. 1 (Aug. 18, 2025):
Extended the bid deadline to September 2.
Declared that all interested bidders must attend a mandatory one-on-one meeting with Boyer, rather than an open public conference.
Addendum No. 2 (Aug. 19, 2025):
Announced that proposals would be reviewed privately by a Boyer-selected committee, rather than opened publicly.
Required contractors to submit an Addendum Acknowledgment Form, binding them to the City’s terms.
With two addenda, Freeport had effectively shut the door on transparency.
Exhibit A: The Contract Council Never Saw
Attached to the RFQ was Exhibit A – Draft Airport Management Agreement.
City Council never debated it. They never voted on it. They never even saw it.
Yet the draft gave sweeping powers to the operator and City Manager:
Automatic renewal up to 19 years.
Authority to close the airport in emergencies without Council approval.
Lease management handled by the operator — but final signatures reserved for Boyer, not elected Council members.
Insurance provisions that leave taxpayers exposed while protecting both the operator and the City Manager.
In short: an entire municipal airport handed over through a contract written behind closed doors.
The Whistleblower: James Monroe
Enter James R. Monroe, Republican, U.S. Air Force veteran, and former 2nd Ward Alderman. Monroe declined reelection this spring, vowing instead to shine a light on corruption in City Hall.
On August 21, 2025, Monroe emailed the Illinois Attorney General’s office with a request for emergency review:
“I am concerned with the requirement that ‘Preferred Offerors will have a current pilot’s license.’
This stipulation raises serious concerns of discriminatory impact … As a disabled veteran, I find this language especially troubling, as it effectively excludes qualified contractors on a basis unrelated to skills, safety, or project performance.”
Monroe’s Formal Complaint
Just days later, on August 25, 2025, Monroe filed a formal complaint with Stephenson County State’s Attorney Carl Larson. His allegations were damning:
Discrimination: “This requirement unnecessarily exclusionary and discriminatory in nature … it creates a barrier that directly disadvantages disabled veterans and others.”
Restricted Competition: Monroe documented how Miller and Boyer cut his mandatory pre-bid meeting short:
“Manager Boyer and Mayor Miller refused a full one-hour meeting per the agreement and left after just 34 minutes, refusing to answer additional questions. Other RFQ attendees, primarily the owners of Heritage Aero, were given much longer time.”
Exclusive Rights: The RFQ risked creating a monopoly, violating 49 U.S.C. § 47107(a)(4) and FAA policy.
Contract Duration Abuse: Nineteen years of control without Council oversight.
FOIA Violations: Illegal disclaimers undermining Illinois law.
Secret Committee Review: Proposals not opened publicly, violating competitive procurement norms.
Monroe concluded:
“The City’s current procedure violates Illinois procurement transparency standards, risks non-compliance with federal law, and undermines public trust. Immediate corrective action is necessary to restore integrity to the procurement process and protect the City from legal challenge or loss of federal support.”
Conflict of Interest: The Stykel Factor
At the center of the scandal is Darin Stykel. On paper, he is Freeport’s Public Works Director. In practice, he is also a senior project manager at Fehr Graham, the engineering firm that has received millions in city contracts under Mayor Miller.
This dual role is more than unusual — it is a glaring conflict of interest.
As Public Works Director, Stykel helps shape City policy and procurement.
As a Fehr Graham manager, he profits directly from the same decisions.
When combined with the harassment of airport staff and diversion of funds, the implications are staggering.
Why This Matters
This scandal isn’t just about Freeport’s airport. It’s about who controls public assets, who benefits from taxpayer dollars, and whether small-town democracy can survive behind closed doors.
Albertus Airport ties directly to Freeport’s economic development.
It receives federal FAA funding, which could be jeopardized by violations.
Its management has now become a flashpoint in a broader pattern of secrecy, favoritism, and conflict of interest in City Hall.
And at the center of it all: a disabled USAF veteran Republican whistleblower accusing Freeport’s mayor, her city manager, and her public works director of running a discriminatory, secretive, and potentially illegal procurement.
A National Scandal in the Making
What’s happening in Freeport is a warning for every small city in America.
If a municipal airport can be quietly handed over for 19 years …
If FOIA can be dismissed in writing …
If elected councils can be cut out of oversight …
If disabled veterans can be excluded from bidding …
… then democracy at the local level is at risk everywhere.
The Final Question
Albertus Airport was meant to serve Freeport. Instead, it has become the centerpiece of a scandal that exposes the Miller administration’s obsession with control and secrecy.
Will Illinois state and federal authorities intervene? Or will Freeport’s government succeed in locking the doors and silencing the public for nearly two decades?
As Monroe himself warned:
“Immediate corrective action is necessary … to restore integrity to the procurement process and protect the City from legal challenge or loss of federal support.”
The documents are here. The complaints are filed. The evidence is undeniable.
And now, the people of Freeport — and the nation — must decide what comes next.
