SPRINGFIELD — Was Hammond, Indiana, a bluff for the Chicago Bears in their yearslong stadium game?
Fans and lawmakers could soon find out.
Members of the Illinois House ran out the clock on their legislative session early Monday without passing a bill to entice the Bears to build a new dome in their home state rather than cross the border to the east, denying the team the property tax certainty that the McCaskeys have insisted will decide the destination of their new dome.
Illinois senators tossed up a desperation heave by passing a bill that would authorize Cook County municipalities with populations of at least 70,000 to create their own financing authorities for publicly owned stadiums that would eliminate the Bears’ potential property tax bills. But their House colleagues didn’t take up the measure for a vote, leaving the stadium saga in limbo once again.
“There’s a lot of work still ahead of us,” Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said. “We’ll continue discussions on a number of issues, including our approach to the Bears stadium question this summer.”
After the House adjourned shortly before sunrise Monday, Welch ruled out calling a special legislative session to deal with the unfinished business surrounding the Bears.
The team reacted curtly to the bitter legislative development.
“We will finalize our evaluation of both Arlington Heights and Hammond, and remain on the late spring/early summer timeline that we have previously communicated,” the team said in a statement. “We will provide an update when we have a decision to share.”
After his late push for the legislation, Gov. JB Pritzker’s office issued a statement saying he “has always wanted the Bears to remain in Illinois and been open to a sensible deal, so the Governor’s Office needs to carefully review this new bill that was recently made public overnight.”
Public stadium pitch
A day after top stadium negotiator and South Side state Sen. Bill Cunningham made the bombshell announcement his caucus wouldn’t support the megaprojects property tax-incentive legislation the team has sought for three years, his chamber ran a two-minute drill to approve a completely new framework, though it wasn’t clear if the team even wanted it.
About 11 p.m. Sunday, Cunningham filed the bill that would allow for municipal agencies akin to the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (ISFA) that funded construction of what is now Rate Field as well as the often-ridiculed 2003 renovation of Soldier Field.
The freshly drawn up play cleared the Senate 37-17 at 3:39 a.m., with some bipartisan support. The House adjourned after 4:30 a.m. without taking a vote.
The measure could be taken up later this year by the Illinois House — if the Bears wait that long to decide their next home.
During overnight floor debate, Cunningham said his proposal would provide the level playing field Senate Democrats have demanded in pitting Chicago against Arlington Heights — and several other towns, including Schaumburg or Cicero, if they’re inclined negotiate a stadium deal — for a new Bears dome.
Cunningham insisted it would give the Bears the “property tax certainty” they have long demanded because the team wouldn’t pay a cent in property taxes. The land and the stadium at whatever site the team picks would be owned by the municipality, while the team would pay for stadium construction.
State Sen. Willie Preston, D-Chicago, voted against a bill he predicted “will take the Chicago Bears right over to Arlington.”
“What’s even more disturbing is the way this bill… was predicated on leveraging the state of Indiana,” Preston said, suggesting the team’s threat to bolt for Indiana was a bluff, to the detriment of his city.
“Congratulations, Arlington Heights Bears,” Preston concluded dryly.
Property taxes have been the Bears’ main concern in advocating for the tanked megaproject legislation, which would’ve allowed them to negotiate discounted payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) in order to slash property tax bills the team has estimated would top $100 million annually in Arlington Heights.
“This would give the Bears what they want,” Cunningham said before calling the bill for a vote. “They have said that they can build and will build their own stadium with private finances. They can do that.”
The Bears were apprised of the proposal but didn’t indicate if they supported it, Cunningham said. Until session wrapped, team reps hadn’t responded to multiple media requests for a full day, either on the stalling of the megaprojects bill or the Hail Mary proposal, which doesn’t include “a single penny of taxpayer dollars being spent,” Cunningham said.
“We are creating these paths for the Bears,” Cunningham said. “It’s up to them to choose which path to go down.”
Chaotic end of session
It all marked something of a Springfield win for Mayor Brandon Johnson, whose top adviser, Jason Lee, was in the Capitol at the close of session to lobby against the PILOT bill that could’ve ushered the team to the suburbs.
Lee said city lawyers were still reviewing the proposal, and while “we believe in public ownership,” he was concerned about the lack of a dedicated revenue stream, like ISFA’s 2% city hotel tax.
Bears officials have estimated a public ask of $855 million for sewers, roads and other investments in Arlington Heights.
Pritzker, whose office was involved in developing the latest proposal, has long championed PILOT legislation, but he vehemently opposed subsidizing a privately owned stadium for a professional sports franchise valued at $8.9 billion. He has stressed that much of the proposed infrastructure funding would be earmarked for Arlington Heights regardless of whether the Bears were at play.
The team has been adamant that their only viable destinations are the former Arlington International Race Course they bought for more than $197 million in 2023, or an area near the Lost Marsh Golf Course in Hammond, Indiana, which is built over an old industrial dump.
Hoosier lawmakers authorized a new stadium financing authority in February that would put $1 billion in taxpayer dollars into a stadium for the Bears, who would get to keep all revenue generated at the dome, all backed by a slew of new taxes and tolls.
Cunningham said his proposal mirrors Indiana’s, without the taxpayer burden. Neither infrastructure dollars nor statewide property tax relief were part of the latest Illinois plan.
“This is not a Bears-specific stadium, either,” Cunningham said, as several other of Chicago’s pro teams have eyed new homes. “It could be used for any professional sports franchise.”
Passing a key constitutional deadline beyond May 31 would not apply a higher vote threshold of 60% to passage because the bill would not take effect for more than a year, Cunningham said.
“The public ownership structure here provides a clearer public benefit, and I think that’s why senators are more likely to support this than the other approach,” Cunningham said. “This will be one of the most favorable stadium deals, from a taxpayer perspective, that has ever been put in place.”
Bears president Kevin Warren has said the franchise will name its next stadium site by “early summer.”