Pritzker says mega projects bill, aimed at keeping Chicago Bears in Illinois, needs more work

The Illinois Senate is back in session this week.

One of the top items on the agenda is the mega projects bill, aiming to keep the Chicago Bears in Illinois.

Gov. JB Pritzker spoke on Tuesday about finding a "middle ground" to make a deal.

"In the legislation that was passed, was the deal the Bears are willing to accept, that's good for the taxpayers, which is what I want. There were also things that were added on top of that, that I think are not great for the taxpayers, and probably need to make some changes to, and most importantly, that won't work for the Bears," Pritzker said.

The Illinois House passed its version of the mega projects bill last week with a 78-32 vote.

The measure would allow megaproject developers to freeze property tax assessments for 25 to 45 years, and rather than paying higher property tax bills that would come with rising assessments, developers would be allowed to negotiate long-term Payments in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, with local taxing bodies.

Lawmakers are racing to pass the legislation before the end of the spring session in Springfield as Illinois faces the very real possibility of losing the Bears to Indiana.

They have until May 31 to get the bill passed.