Chicago Bears stadium: Team 'ready now' to build in Arlington Heights, but awaits legislation

FULL VIDEO: Bears 'ready now' for Arlington Heights if stadium bill passes, Warren says

Chicago Bears President Kevin Warren said talks are taking place on weekly basis for a new stadium in Arlington Heights, during a Friday afternoon press conference at Halas Hall.

Chicago Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren outlined a timeline for breaking ground on a new stadium in Arlington Heights on Friday.

This plan is reliant on a specific bill that still needs to be passed in order to officially begin building a new stadium.

What we know:

Warren, speaking to the media Friday after the Bears' training camp practice, said the Bears are still fully committed to building in Arlington Heights.

As it stands, the team has only had conversations with Arlington Heights. The City of Chicago hasn't re-entered any conversations at the moment.

Still, there's one remaining obstacle. That's the state legislation in Springfield which would allow the team to negotiate with local governments over property tax bills. The bill in question stalled during the spring session and became more difficult to pass in the fall session as the it would need a three-fifths majority to pass.

"The biggest item that has remained is the fact of this mega-project bill," Warren said. "That was on the docket in the spring, but it was not put forth for a vote. But, it's very important that passes, because without that legislation we are not able to proceed forward."

Warren noted this is the final piece to the puzzle for the Bears, who could build as soon as December if the bill passes in the fall.

"We stand ready," Warren said.

What's next:

The Bears are specifically asking Springfield to pass a bill that would allow mega-developments like their Arlington Heights proposal to negotiate property tax levels with local municipalities, rather than pay a rate every year based on the property's assessed value.

The legislation failed to gain traction during the spring session, and will be a heavier lift in the Fall veto session, where the rules require a three-fifths majority to pass anything. That means the Bears would have to secure 11 more votes in the House and six more in the Senate than they would have had to ordinarily. 

State Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), who's district includes Soldier Field, said there are around 30 lawmakers based in Chicago that are not inclined to vote for the bill.

"This is not on our priority list," Buckner said. "When you talk about the fact that we need $1.5 billion for the transit system in the region, we are not spending much time talking about where the Bears are playing football and whether or not the State of Illinois should be writing a check to them."

Buckner says the legislation amounts to a property tax freeze, and would deprive local governments and school systems of tax revenue.

What they're saying:

The Bears need to convince lawmakers in Springfield to pass this bill, and team leadership said it's on their shoulders to help lawmakers see their vision and, in turn, push this bill past the finish line.

"It's on us to convince the governor and the state legislators that this is a good idea for the people of Illinois," Bears' Chairman George McCaskey said. "We need to do a better job at that."

One way the Bears are trying to convince Springfield to usher the bill along is by framing it as a "jobs bill" instead of a stadium bill or property tax bill.

"This is a jobs bill and in the climate that we're in, from an economic standpoint locally, but also from a national standpoint, but especially here in the State of Illinois," Warren said. "People need to be put to work. You're talking about this stadium project, (it) would create over 56,000 permanent jobs, 56,000 construction jobs, 9,100 permanent jobs that it would create. So, you're talking about putting people to work. This is an economic bill that would give people jobs."