Bears stadium latest: Not enough Dems back megaprojects tax breaks
Experts weigh in on the latest of megaprojects bill struggles, changes
Lawmakers in Springfield are deciding on the three b's: The budget, the BUILD plan, and the Bears. In the last 24 hours, the megaprojects bill looks different than what house lawmakers passed last month. This change in the game plan came hours after the megaprojects bill failed to get enough support in the state senate. Senator Bill Cunningham and Marc Gains weighed in on the changes to the bill.
CHICAGO - State lawmakers are up against a midnight deadline on Sunday to pass major pieces of legislation, including a deal aimed at keeping the Bears in Illinois.
Overnight, a key lawmaker said that the so-called "megaprojects" bill aimed at providing property tax relief to the Bears to build a new stadium in suburban Arlington Heights doesn’t have sufficient support to pass the Senate.
What we know:
State Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago), the point person on the legislation, said the provisions like allowing for a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, in the megaprojects bill did not have enough support among Senate Democrats.
"There is not support in the Senate Democratic Caucus to pass a bill like that right now. But we're not giving up," Cunningham said. "We're working on an alternative plan. We have a couple of ideas in the work that we are working through with some Democratic Caucus members. And we're hopeful we'll have a more clear path, a better plan, some better framework."
A new bill was expected to be filed on Sunday.
That new bill could include a framework that would have the Bears pay for a new stadium on publicly owned land.
State Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), whose district includes Soldier Field and led the effort to pass the megaprojects bill in the House, said this latest effort from the Senate was taking on a different "complexion" than his bill. While the exact details of the bill were not clear as of midday, Buckner said lawmakers simply wanted to "create the mechanisms" to keep the Bears in Illinois.
Illinois lawmakers reassess megaprojects bill. Might the Bears stay in Chicago?
Illinois lawmakers overnight said they don't seem to have the votes to pass the megaprojects bill that the Bears want to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights, according to multiple outlets.
"I want to get on with this and get past this, give the Bears what they need to stay in the state. But we’ll see what happens," Buckner said.
Illinois gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey said he supports keeping the Bears in Illinois but opposed the megaprojects bill, arguing that homeowners should not bear the cost of incentives for a new stadium.
"I love the Bears. Like millions of Illinoisans, I want them to stay in Illinois. But I can't look a homeowner struggling to pay their property tax bill in the eye and tell them they should subsidize a stadium for a franchise worth billions of dollars," Bailey said in a statement on X. "If I were governor, my message to the Bears ownership would be simple: you own the land, you own the team, and you should build the stadium yourselves."
The backstory:
The latest developments come as lawmakers are also expected to take up a number of important issues, including the budget for the next fiscal year.
The legislative session ends at midnight, although bills can pass afterward. They would just require a higher threshold for approval in the General Assembly.
This latest news also comes about three months after Indiana lawmakers swiftly passed legislation establishing funding for a potential stadium for the Bears in Hammond, which included tax hikes.
The Bears have previously said they would choose between Arlington Heights and Hammond for the site of a new stadium.
What we don't know:
The exact details of a new bill, including when it would be filed and voted on, were unclear as of Sunday morning.