Chicago Bears Keep 2-Site Stadium Review After $55.9 Billion Illinois Budget Omits Bill
Updated
Updated · NBC Chicago · Jun 1
Chicago Bears Keep 2-Site Stadium Review After $55.9 Billion Illinois Budget Omits Bill
7 articles · Updated · NBC Chicago · Jun 1
The Bears said they will keep evaluating Arlington Heights and Hammond and still expect a decision in late spring or early summer after Illinois passed its budget without stadium legislation.
A 37-17 Illinois Senate vote around 4 a.m. approved a last-minute stadium measure, but the House never took it up before adjournment, leaving any further action to a possible special session or summer talks.
The revised bill dropped the earlier PILOT plan and instead proposed a publicly owned stadium model in Cook County municipalities of 70,000 or more, with up to 40-year bonds and a required 35-year team lease.
That structure would give the stadium itself a property-tax exemption while taxing the surrounding development, as Illinois tries to counter Indiana's offer of up to $1 billion in incentives for a Hammond site.
Could Indiana's aggressive $1 billion offer permanently change how cities negotiate with sports teams?
If public stadium deals rarely pay off, why do cities keep funding them for billionaire owners?
How can a tax-exempt stadium benefit a community if it doesn't fund local schools or services?