Mayor Miller’s Meltdown Exposes Her Quest for Unchecked Power
FREEPORT, IL – October 7, 2025
If you tuned in to the October 6th Freeport City Council meeting expecting a professional, respectful start to city business — you got something else entirely.
In a move straight out of the MAGA playbook, Mayor Jodi Miller opened the meeting with a full-blown political performance — abandoning procedure, ignoring council rules, and turning the opening minutes into a personal tantrum aimed squarely at the alderpersons who dared question her authority.
“So to start this evening,” Miller announced, “I would like to read an email I sent to all of the aldermen last Friday. Just in case someone did not have the opportunity to read that email.”
What followed wasn’t leadership — it was a lecture. The Mayor scolded specific alderpersons (notably the Black members of Council) for voicing concerns, asking hard questions, and — Heaven forbid — using their allotted speaking time to represent their constituents. Miller called it “unacceptable.” We call it democracy.
But the real alarm came when Miller threatened the council with her supposed political “mandate.” After winning re-election earlier this year, she has been nothing but emboldened — empowered to do as she sees fit, regardless of laws or checks and balances. It has become more than obvious that she sees her third term as a blank check, a final “hoorah” and a time to secure her personal financial future before the next election.
This past Spring, with a few strokes of the gavel and a cooperative majority, Miller consolidated her control over the council — moving to silence dissent and strip power from elected representatives who don’t toe her line. The move reeks of authoritarianism and political insecurity.
Meanwhile, she’s been silent about the actual disruptions and disrespect inside Council chambers — City Manager Rob Boyer, Fehr Graham’s Darin Stykel, and consultant Wayne Duckmann have repeatedly interrupted elected officials, making inappropriate remarks, speaking out of turn and breaking decorum during council members’ speaking time. Yet, not a single reprimand from the Mayor.
This isn’t about “governance.”
It’s about control.
Ordinance 2025-57 – Creating Another Layer of Loyal Management
Also on Monday’s agenda — Ordinance 2025-57, pushed by City Manager Boyer and Fehr Graham, and passed 6–2. The measure creates a new Operations Superintendent position under Boyer’s direct control.
“The Superintendent shall be appointed, and may be removed without cause, by the City Manager.”
Let’s be clear: this is not about efficiency. It’s about expanding authority. Another non-union, politically insulated position added to a growing inner circle that answers not to the public taxpayers — but to Boyer, Miller and Fehr Graham.
Even more troubling: while union workers are being forced to accept concessions and Boyer’s broken promises this fall, the Mayor and City Manager are quietly stacking City Hall with high-paying, unaccountable positions.
Six votes said yes.
Two alderpersons — the 5th and 7th Ward representatives — courageously said no.
Ordinance 2025-58 – “Safety” for Some, Silence for Others
The Council also considered Ordinance 2025-58, a sweeping restriction on vacation rentals (Airbnb, VRBO) in Freeport’s R1–R4 residential zones. Supporters, including 1st Ward Alderman Tom Klemm, claimed the ordinance was about “safety” after a summer incident in an affluent neighborhood involving illegal weapons.
But where is that urgency when gunfire erupts at Empire and High? Or when a man tries to burn down the Hosmer Apartments?
It’s telling that City Hall only acts when crime touches the wealthy. For working-class neighborhoods, there’s no emergency ordinance, no mayoral outrage — just silence.
We thank Alderman Klemm for at least acknowledging the issue. But make no mistake: this administration has made it clear — some neighborhoods matter more than others.
The ordinance failed to pass, but the message was heard loud and clear:
Public safety is a privilege, not a right — unless you live on the west side of West Ave.
Fighting4Freeport’s Take
The past five months have been a case study in how democracy erodes — not in one big moment, but in a thousand little power grabs. Miller’s rule changes, Boyer’s growing influence, and Fehr Graham’s endless contracts reveal a City Hall more interested in consolidating authority than solving real problems.
The Mayor’s performance wasn’t leadership — it was ego wrapped in procedure, a tantrum dressed as governance.
We’ve seen this pattern before:
Threaten dissenters
Empower loyalists
Silence the rest
The question Freeport must now ask is simple:
When is enough, enough?.
