The Chicago Bears and Illinois lawmakers are close to agreement on key issues that would keep the team in-state and help kickstart an Arlington Heights stadium project, according to multiple sources close to the talks.
The legislative sources say Governor JB Pritzker and legislative leaders are on board with a public funding package for infrastructure around the Arlington Heights site, as well as the so-called “PILOT” legislation that would give the team the ability to negotiate property tax levels with the village.
The legislative sources say the sides are hammering out details on measures that would ensure ticket price affordability for fans who want to attend games and events at the new stadium.
Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren has said the team can’t move forward without the “property tax certainty” that the PILOT legislation would provide. Warren has vowed that the team will pay for all costs of actually building the stadium structure.
Today, Pritzker sounded optimistic about the progress.
“We’re in consistent conversation with the Chicago Bears,” Pritzker said to reporters at an unrelated event downstate. “The most important point I would make is we’re not going to do anything that’s bad for the taxpayers. We are helping businesses build infrastructure…and other things that are available to any business that’s growing or building something new in the state of Illinois that’s putting people to work. Those are normal incentives, and that’s what I’d expect we’ll end up with for the Bears.”
This comes as Indiana lawmakers have moved the ball forward significantly on a legislative package meant to lure the team across state lines.
Their proposal differs significantly in that it would authorize a public stadium authority to finance all or part of the stadium, with the Bears paying rent.
The bill passed the Indiana Senate and has support from House leaders and Indiana Republican Governor Mike Braun.
Sources close to the Chicago Bears say the only site they are considering in the Hoosier State is near Wolf Lake in Hammond, right across the Chicago border.
To compare this to a football matchup, the process is akin to being in the fourth quarter with two minutes to go.
Indiana’s legislative session ends February 27, which puts pressure on Illinois lawmakers to get a deal done in the next two weeks.
Illinois Representative Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) has long stood in the way of the Bears’ plans to get public financing to leave Soldier Field. He says Illinois lawmakers are not all of a sudden upping their game because of Indiana.
“We are not in competition with Indiana,” Buckner said. “What we’re doing is having the conversations to fine-tune what needs to happen in order to get a deal in this state that works for everybody.”
