Lease Renewal Sparks Dysfunction and Distrust at City Hall
FREEPORT, IL – September 16, 2025
Fifth Renewal, Familiar Problems
On September 15th, 2025, Freeport City Council took up Ordinance #2025-53 — the fifth renewal of a lease agreement with local businessman Peter Alber for taxpayer-owned property at 103–111 S. Liberty Avenue.
This year’s version carried a new twist: the contract included language giving Alber an option to purchase the property outright.
That change turned what should have been routine city business into another flashpoint for questions of transparency, favoritism, and the Mayor’s family connections.
Questions Without Answers
Alderwoman Stacy raised the first concern, pointing out that other floors of the building were never offered to the public. Instead of explaining why, City Manager Rob Boyer redirected attention to the contract amendment paving the way for Alber’s purchase — a move that left both council members and residents questioning the true intent of the deal.
Those concerns were heightened by history: the Alber family, also connected to Mayor Jodi Miller, previously acquired another Rawleigh complex building for just $100.
Alderman Sanders pressed the issue, stressing that contract terms should have come before council long before involving the Mayor’s relatives.
Rules Bent, Voices Silenced
Rather than ensuring fair debate, Mayor Miller allowed her city manager to interrupt a sitting alderman, and when Sanders pushed back, she cut him off herself.
At one point, Boyer dismissed Sanders’ line of questioning with a sarcastic, “That’s a lot of questions, do you mind if I answer some of them?”
When Sanders attempted to reclaim his time, Miller escalated further, snapping: “You need to just back yourself up away from the microphone before you’re called out of order.”
This wasn’t leadership. It was intimidation — and it exposed just how broken council procedure has become.
A Mayor Without Control
After eight years in office, Mayor Miller continues to wield Robert’s Rules of Order not as a tool for fair debate, but as a weapon to silence opposition. Her selective enforcement shows bias, undermines transparency, and erodes public trust.
What should have been a straightforward discussion of a lease turned into another circus, with residents left wondering who actually runs City Hall — their elected aldermen or the city staff shielded by the Mayor.
A Vote Without Direction
The ordinance failed to pass — not because of careful deliberation, but because Alderwoman-at-Large Joy Sellers didn’t bother to show up for the meeting. Her absence left council without the votes needed to move forward.
Now that Alber’s lease expired on September 14th, residents should not expect him to vacate city property. Instead, watch for this deal to resurface on the October 6th agenda, likely repackaged as a “new lease” or with altered terms to sidestep the rules.
And here’s the catch: only Alderman Sanders or Alderwoman Stacy have the authority to legally bring this renewal back before council. Anything else would be bending the rules to push a failed contract forward.
Why Residents Should Care
This is about more than one building. It’s about:
Conflicts of Interest – City property being funneled toward the Mayor’s family.
Broken Governance – Council members silenced, staff running the show.
Eroded Trust – Citizens shut out of decisions they are funding with their taxes.
When public property is handled behind closed doors and rules are bent to push deals forward, the people of Freeport lose twice: once as taxpayers and again as citizens denied transparency.
The Bigger Picture
Two weeks before this meeting, community leader and State Senate candidate Joshua T. Atkinson sent every alderperson a detailed proposal on how to amend the Rules of Council to restore order. Not one alderperson has acted, leaving residents to believe either their representatives are unwilling to lead — or content with the dysfunction.
Be Watchful, Freeport
Mayor Miller has again proven herself less a leader, more of a ringmaster of dysfunction. And unless more council members step up, residents can expect more of the same: rules bent, questions silenced, and family deals slid through under new names.
The people of Freeport deserve better.
👉 Fighting4Freeport will continue shining a light on City Hall until they get it.
