September 4, 2026 | Freeport, IL
Presented by Imani Brooks
F4F NEWS | Fighting4Freeport
Investigative Reporting, Editing & Publication
Joshua T. Atkinson
Chairman | Fighting4Freeport
F4F NEWS has twice received anonymous correspondence raising questions about a proposed athletic and learning facility at Highland Community College and asking for our help. We're sharing those concerns — and asking the people behind them to contact our newsroom.
Over the past couple of months, something unusual has arrived at Fighting4Freeport — twice.
Someone, or perhaps a group of people, wants our help.
They've raised questions about a proposed athletic and learning facility at Highland Community College, its potential cost to taxpayers, financing, long-term expenses and whether voters should have an opportunity to decide the issue through a public referendum.
They've taken the time to write to us more than once.
But they haven't told us who they are or how to reach them. They haven’t told us who in power they have spoken with to address the issue.
So today, we're doing two things. First, we're keeping our word and giving their concerns a public voice by publishing their most recent letter in full.
Second, we're asking whoever sent it to take one more step:
Talk to us.
What We've Received
The most recent letter received by Fighting4Freeport is dated August 4, 2026. It is addressed to Highland Community College Board Chairperson Block, Vice Chairperson Boldt and members of the Board of Trustees.
Its authors describe themselves only as “Concerned Citizens of Northwest Illinois.”
The letter raises concerns about a proposed athletic and learning facility at Highland Community College and argues that a project with significant long-term financial implications should be put before district voters through a public referendum.
The writers also ask Highland to provide more information about the project's total projected cost, potential property-tax impact, proposed bond financing and interest, long-term operating and maintenance costs, possible effects on student costs, alternatives considered and the projected educational and community benefits.
Those are legitimate questions for residents to ask of a taxpayer-supported public institution.
But there is an important distinction we need to make.
F4F NEWS has not independently verified the assertions contained in this letter.
At this point, we are reporting what the people who contacted us are asking and providing them the opportunity they requested to have those concerns heard.
Going further requires something we don't currently have: communication with the people behind the letter.
You Can Be Confidential Without Being Anonymous to Us
Neither correspondence Fighting4Freeport received included the name of a contact person, an email address, a telephone number or a return address.
That makes meaningful follow-up nearly impossible.
We can't ask where particular information came from. We can't request supporting documents. We can't determine what conversations have already taken place with Highland officials. We can't ask what records the writers may already possess. And we can't clarify exactly what they are asking Fighting4Freeport to do.
If the concern is revealing your identity publicly, we understand.
There is an important difference between being anonymous to everyone and being a confidential source.
You can identify yourself privately to Fighting4Freeport and ask that your identity not be published. There are legitimate circumstances in which employees, public officials, parents, residents and others may fear retaliation or simply have good reason not to attach their names publicly to information they provide.
Protecting a source publicly does not prevent us from communicating privately.
In fact, that communication is what allows responsible reporting to begin.
We can protect a source. We can't investigate alongside someone we have no way to reach.
This Is Why We Created the Situation Room
The Situation Room at Fighting4Freeport.com exists for situations exactly like this.
If you believe something is happening in local government, a school district, a public institution or elsewhere in our community that deserves scrutiny, tell us what you know.
If you have documents, emails, photographs, meeting records or other evidence, provide them. Tell us what you've already discovered, what questions remain unanswered and what kind of assistance you're seeking.
If your identity needs to remain confidential, tell us that too.
The Situation Room gives our newsroom somewhere to begin.
Because serious accountability work requires more than repeating an allegation. It means reviewing documents, checking facts, filing public-records requests when appropriate, talking with sources, asking public officials questions and giving the people or institutions involved an opportunity to respond.
An unsigned letter can alert us to a story.
It can't replace the work required to establish one.
What the Writers Want Highland to Answer
Although we cannot yet independently verify the broader assertions contained in the correspondence, the writers have identified several specific questions they believe Highland Community College should answer publicly.
They want to know the total projected cost of the proposed facility and how it could affect property taxpayers throughout the district. They are asking about the expected term and total repayment cost of any proposed bonds, including interest, as well as the facility's anticipated long-term operating and maintenance expenses.
They also want information about potential effects on student fees and costs, alternatives considered by Highland and the projected educational and community benefits of the project.
Ultimately, they are asking Highland's Board of Trustees to pause the process, conduct additional public meetings throughout the district and allow taxpayers to vote on the project through a referendum.
Their letter argues that the issue isn't simply whether an athletic facility would be worthwhile, but who should decide whether taxpayers should fund it.
We're giving them the opportunity to make that argument in their own words.
The Letter, in Full
Because Fighting4Freeport has received correspondence regarding this matter more than once, and because the senders have asked for our help bringing attention to their concerns, their August 4 letter is reproduced below in full.
August 4, 2026
Chairperson Block, Vice Chairperson Boldt and Members of the Board of Trustees:
We are writing on behalf of a growing group of concerned citizens and taxpayers throughout the Highland Community College District who share the Board's commitment to the long-term strength of Highland Community College and its service to our communities.
We recognize the Board's responsibility to plan for the College's future, maintain quality facilities, and support opportunities that benefit students, faculty, and the broader district. Our concern is not with the College's mission or with investment in its future. Rather, we are concerned that the proposed athletic and learning facility would create a significant long-term financial obligation for district taxpayers without giving them the opportunity to vote on the proposal. The proposed athletic facility will not only significantly impact the taxpayers of Highland's district but could very well drive the college into further and further financial deficit decline.
District residents already support Highland Community College through their property taxes because they believe in its mission of providing affordable (although tuition and fees cost going up and up), high-quality education and serving the broader community. When a decision of this magnitude is being considered, the College and the community are best served by openness, partnership, and public participation. Many taxpayers want to understand not only what is being proposed, but also how it will affect families, farms, and businesses for years to come.
We respectfully ask the Board to reconsider this course of action and allow district residents to decide this important question through a public referendum. Even if Illinois law permits bond financing without a referendum under certain circumstances, choosing to seek voter approval would demonstrate the Board's commitment to transparency, accountability, financial well-being, and public trust.
We also request that the Board provide the public with complete and easily accessible information regarding:
The total projected cost of the athletic and learning facility.
The anticipated increase in property taxes for homeowners, farmers, and businesses throughout the district.
The expected term and total repayment cost of the proposed bonds, including interest.
The annual and long-term operating and maintenance costs of the new facility.
The impact on student fees and cost to students.
Alternative options that were considered and the reasons they were not selected.
The projected educational and community benefits of this project.
An informed public is essential to good governance.
The issue is about more than one building. It is about preserving public confidence in decisions made on behalf of the citizens who fund the college. Public trust is strengthened when residents are invited to participate in significant decisions affecting their tax dollars, especially when those decisions will shape the College's finances for many years. Public trust and confidence of the College and Board has been significantly eroded with decisions made in the past few years.
We respectfully urge the Board to pause this process, engage the community through additional public meetings throughout all of Highland's district, and give voters the opportunity to decide whether they wish to support this huge investment through a public referendum.
Our goal is not to oppose Highland Community College. We simply believe that a project with such significant financial implications should ultimately be decided by the taxpayers who bear its cost, and that the College and the community will be stronger when that decision is made transparently and with broad public participation.
Thank you for your consideration. We hope you will give thoughtful attention to the concerns expressed by a growing many residents throughout the district. This is not about whether an athletic facility is worthwhile; it is about who should decide whether taxpayers should fund it.
Respectfully,
Concerned Citizens of Northwest Illinois
To Whoever Sent These Letters: We're Listening
You reached out to Fighting4Freeport because you wanted these concerns heard.
We've heard you and are willing to help however we can.
And by publishing your letter in full, we're making sure our community has an opportunity to hear you too.
But if you're asking Fighting4Freeport and F4F NEWS to do more — to investigate, request records, examine the financing, ask Highland officials questions or help determine whether the concerns you've raised are supported by the facts — we need to hear directly from you.
Use the Situation Room at Fighting4Freeport.com to contact us. Tell us that you're responsible for the Highland correspondence and give us a way to communicate with you.
If you need your identity protected publicly, say so.
This message extends beyond the people who sent these particular letters. Fighting4Freeport wants residents to bring us concerns about their government and public institutions. That's part of why we're here.
But accountability isn't built on rumors or anonymous social-media posts. And serious results rarely come from dropping an unsigned letter in the mail and hoping someone else can figure out the rest.
They come from people willing to provide information, reporters willing to examine it and facts strong enough to withstand scrutiny.
You don't necessarily have to put your name in the newspaper.
But if you're asking us to help find answers, you have to talk to us.