Illinois House adjourns until March without taking up bill that could help new Bears stadium

The Illinois State House adjourned until mid-March without taking up a new megaprojects bill that could help the Chicago Bears build a new stadium in Arlington Heights. 

Meanwhile, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed legislation clearing the way for a new Bears stadium plan in Hammond.

Nearly five years after the Bears first announced their bid to buy the former Arlington International Racecourse with the aim of turning the site into a new stadium, Illinois HB 910 passed out of committee but failed to be taken up by House legislators before adjourning their session. 

The bill would give the team tax certainty if they build a new stadium in Illinois, allowing any megaproject involving an investment of $500 million or more to negotiate a freeze on its property tax assessment.

The bill passed out of committee Thursday afternoon by a 13 to 7 vote along party lines, despite opposition from Chicago City Hall and questions about whether Democrats in the House can muster the necessary votes to send the measure to the Illinois Senate.

In a statement after that committee vote, the Bears said they "recognize and appreciate the advancement of mega project legislation" and "look forward to continued engagement as the lawmakers determine the legislative path forward."

State Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), whose district includes Soldier Field, and who introduced the megaprojects legislation in the Illinois House, said the bill wasn't written just for the Bears. It's meant to attract large-scale development across the state, but the team's proposed Arlington Heights stadium is the clearest example of how it could be used.

"Instead of letting a megaproject blow up a tax base in unpredictable ways, or letting negotiations happen in the shadows, this bill creates a clean structure," Buckner said.

The negotiation over the Bears' property tax bill would have to involve the impacted local taxing districts — in this case, the Village of Arlington Heights, Cook County, and the various school districts in the area. The project would also earn an exemption from state and local taxes for building materials.  

Opponents have said the biggest concern is the burden that would be placed on the average taxpayer if the Bears and other major developers are able to lock in lower property tax bills for decades.

"It would shift liability from megaproject developers directly onto homeowners, small businesses, creating a mechanism that could double or triple the effective property tax rates over the next few decades," said Brian Costin, deputy state director of the Illinois chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a Libertarian policy advocacy group.

Chicago city leaders also formally registered as an opponent to the megaprojects legislation:

The city's acting Chief Financial Officer, Steven Mahr, said Chicago a fair shot at continuing to pitch to keep the Bears on the Museum Campus on the lakefront.

"If the state is willing to support infrastructure spending elsewhere, either through direct or indirect subsidy to facilitate a new sports stadium, then the state should be willing to support infrastructure spending in and around the Museum Campus for a similar development," he said. "With such a commitment, the city of Chicago and the Park District would submit multiple viable proposals for a new publicly owned sports stadium in Chicago."

The Bears also are seeking state funding for public infrastructure – such as roads, sewers, and utilities – needed to support a new stadium in Arlington Heights. That isn't included in the megaprojects legislation.

It's unclear how soon the full Illinois House will take up the megaprojects proposal once it resumes session on March 18. Democrats continued to express some skepticism about the bill and indicated there could be additional changes before any floor vote.

As state lawmakers continue negotiations on a possible stadium deal, former Gov. Pat Quinn is calling on Bears fans to sign a petition to keep the Bears in Illinois.

"We do not want the Chicago Bears to become the Hammond Hoosiers. No way," he said. "This is a good way for everyday people, the real fans, to go online and tell the owners we want to keep the Bears in Illinois."

But Gov. JB Pritzker and state lawmakers have said funding a new lakefront stadium is a nonstarter.

Meantime, the Indiana State Senate on Thursday voted on final passage of legislation clearing the way for a new Bears stadium along Wolf Lake in Hammond. The Indiana legislation would invest $1 billion worth of taxpayer money into a Bears stadium — something that Illinois is not offering the team.

Gov. Braun signed the legislation into law on Thursday afternoon. On ESPN, Braun said Indiana is ready to compete for a Bears stadium.

"I think they are really now getting a good look at what it's like doing business in a place like Indiana, and it's going to be a lot easier to run a business over the next 40 or 50 years than it would be there," Braun said.

In a statement, the Bears said they were grateful for Braun's support of the Indiana stadium legislation.

"We continue to work on the necessary due diligence and appreciate the ongoing engagement with Indiana state and local leaders," the Bears said.

The Bears have yet to make a firm commitment to either Illinois or Indiana.

Gov. Pritzker said this week that he is optimistic the Bears will stay in Illinois, saying there is "broad agreement" about the property tax-related legislation.