Mayor Miller Pauses Progress: Committee of the Whole Meeting Cancelled
May 09, 2025
In a move that’s raising serious questions across Freeport, the Miller administration has cancelled the May 12, 2025 Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting. This meeting would have been the final working session before the city’s new council is sworn in—and the last scheduled meeting of Mayor Jodi Miller’s second term before beginning her third term at the May 19 City Council meeting.
It also would have marked 2nd Ward Alderman James Monroe’s final appearance on the council before Alderwoman-Elect Linda Johnson officially takes office. But rather than closing out this transition period with transparency and public engagement, the administration appears to be shutting the doors—again.
This cancellation follows Mayor Miller’s failed attempt to cancel the April COW meeting, which ultimately moved forward after pushback from council members and community voices. According to City Hall sources, the May 12 meeting was scrapped before any agenda items could be submitted, effectively silencing potential discussions and blocking action on any outstanding city business.
With no public explanation provided from the Mayor’s office as of this writing, Freeport residents are left to speculate. Is this Mayor Miller’s “Mission Accomplished” moment—or simply another political stunt to dodge accountability?
City leadership’s retreat from the public eye couldn’t come at a worse time. AFSCME union negotiations remain stalled. Crime and violence are increasing, particularly in underserved neighborhoods. And in a telling shift of priorities, road crews tasked with repairing 5 to 8 miles of city streets have instead been reassigned to litter pickup—while potholes and disrepair continue to frustrate drivers.
“The people of Freeport deserve answers and action—not silence,” said one resident reacting to the news. “We’ve heard a lot of promises. Now it feels like we’re watching City Hall retreat into the shadows.”
Even some city staff and former officials have quietly voiced concern, noting the optics of cancelling a final meeting without input from the council or public. Others wonder whether the cancellation was a way to avoid difficult questions ahead of Mayor Miller’s swearing-in for a third term.
With five months of 2025 already behind us and little tangible progress to show, critics are asking: Is this what leadership looks like?
As Freeport prepares to seat a new council and begin a new term, Fighting4Freeport will continue to track whether the mayor chooses to lead with vision—or with silence.
