SB2504: The Springfield Power Grab That Could Reshape Freeport, Stephenson County, and Who Really Runs This Community
FREEPORT, IL – December 03, 2025
SB2504 is being sold in Springfield as a government “efficiency” bill. But here in Stephenson County — population roughly 43,000 — its impact would be nothing short of transformational. And not in a good way.
This bill doesn’t just eliminate township assessors.
It doesn’t just make it easier to dissolve or consolidate townships.
It hands enormous new authority to the very political network that has controlled NW Illinois for decades — while weakening one of the few local government bodies still widely viewed as honest, transparent, and corruption-free.
The Stewart Centre: Where the Power Lines Converge
To understand SB2504’s local impact, you need to know where the county assessor works today:
The Stewart Centre in downtown Freeport.
Owned by former State Senator Brian Stewart.
Inside that same building sit:
The Stephenson County Assessment Office (which would gain massive new power under SB2504)
The district office of State Senator Andrew Chesney
The district office of State Rep. John Cabello
Additional county government offices
A political hub disguised as a commercial building.
Fighting4Freeport has previously reported how Brian Stewart has saved millions in property taxes on buildings he purchased across Freeport, shifting more of the burden onto regular homeowners and seniors living on fixed incomes.
And now Springfield wants to centralize even more tax authority into an office housed inside that same building.
If this sounds like consolidating power into the hands of a very small, very connected group of insiders… that’s because it is.
The Big Hit: Freeport Township
The most immediate and devastating impact would fall on Freeport Township, led by Supervisor Patrick Sellers — one of the only government bodies left in Stephenson County that:
Helps people consistently
Treats residents with respect
Manages its resources responsibly
Has earned a reputation for being free of corruption and political gamesmanship
SB2504 threatens that stability in three major ways:
1. Freeport Township’s independent assessor would be abolished.
Under the bill, any township assessor in a county under 50,000 population loses their office.
All authority — including valuation power — is shifted to the county.
2. The bill makes it far easier to dissolve townships outright.
By lowering petition thresholds to just 5% of previous township voters, SB2504 creates a path where only a few dozen signatures could force a vote on dissolving a township.
3. Dissolution doesn’t just remove the assessor — it could wipe out the entire township government.
If dissolved, Freeport Township’s services, assets, and responsibilities would fall under:
Freeport Mayor Jodi Miller
City Manager Rob Boyer
The eight-member Freeport City Council
Based on years of administrative missteps, opaque decision-making, and questionable priorities at City Hall, the idea of them assuming control over township services — including general assistance for struggling residents — should concern every taxpayer.
This is not consolidation for efficiency.
This is consolidation for control.
A Silence That Speaks Louder Than Words
For decades, NW Illinois has operated under the heavy influence of the Chesney–Stewart political machine. From appointments to patronage to who gets what privilege, this network’s dominance is no secret to anyone who has lived here long enough.
So the silence from State Senator Andrew Chesney on SB2504 isn’t just unusual — it’s revealing.
No press releases
No town halls
No advocacy for protections for rural residents
No explanation to voters about what this bill means for them
Why is Chesney suddenly quiet?
Because a bill that centralizes assessment authority and makes township dissolutions easier strengthens the exact people and structures already dominating regional power.
SB2504 increases their influence.
It expands their footprint.
It tightens their grip.
Silence can be strategic.
And in this case, it’s deafening.
Atkinson: “SB2504 Is the Lazy Way Out.”
Republican State Senate candidate Joshua T. Atkinson, who is challenging Chesney, is one of the few voices calling this bill what it is.
Atkinson argues that instead of revitalizing rural communities, SB2504 surrenders them:
“SB2504 is the lazy way out.
Rather than truly invest in our rural communities and lift them back into places where our kids stay or return to — where young families can afford to live — this bill throws up its hands.
Forgetting growth, forgetting stabilization, and choosing the easy way out.”
Atkinson frames the debate perfectly:
Illinois should be helping rural towns rebuild — not hollowing out the few functioning pieces of government they still have.
What This Really Means for Stephenson County
SB2504 isn’t just legislative housekeeping.
It is a massive shift of power, away from:
Locally elected township officials
Local voters
Rural residents who rely on township services
…and toward:
The county apparatus
The political insiders who already dominate it
The building where Chesney, Cabello, and county offices all share space under Brian Stewart’s roof
This is not efficiency.
It’s consolidation of influence.
And it will change Freeport and Stephenson County for decades if left unchallenged.
The Bottom Line
SB2504 gives Springfield the cover to say “we’re streamlining government” — while, in reality:
Weakening honest local institutions
Expanding the reach of entrenched political insiders
Making it easier to dissolve the township that residents actually trust
Centralizing assessment power in the very building owned by a man who has already benefited from suspicious tax advantages
Stephenson County residents deserve transparency, fairness, and government that works for the people, not for a clique of political power brokers.
Fighting4Freeport will continue tracking every step of SB2504 — and calling out every attempt to reshape our community behind closed doors.
Because if there was ever a bill that demanded a floodlight, not a flashlight…
This is it.
A Final Note: A Cautionary Tale for Every Resident
SB2504 should serve as a cautionary tale. Elections matter. Who you support — and who you refuse to support — matters. Power only shifts when people decide it should, and it only concentrates when good people stay silent. If you care about the future of your community, of Freeport, of our townships, now is not the time to sit on the sidelines. Silence is a choice — and in moments like this, that choice carries real consequences for you, your family, and the generations that follow. The future of this community will be decided by those who show up, speak out, and refuse to hand their power over to the same entrenched networks that have failed us for far too long.
