IL House Passes Bears Stadium Bill

The Illinois House voted Wednesday night to advance a bill designed to help the Chicago Bears build a new stadium in Arlington Heights. (nbcchicago.com) House Bill 910 passed 78-32 after the House Revenue and Finance Committee approved it 15-5 earlier the same day. The measure now goes to the Illinois Senate, which returns to session next week. (cbsnews.com) The bill would let “megaprojects” freeze property tax assessments and negotiate payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOTs, with local taxing bodies. Lawmakers wrote the latest version around the Bears’ proposed domed stadium on the former Arlington Park site. (thedailyline.com) The fight has turned into a two-state competition. Indiana lawmakers moved earlier this year to lure the Bears to Hammond, and Illinois Democrats rewrote the bill this week to make an Illinois deal more attractive. (capitolnewsillinois.com) Illinois lawmakers also added a statewide property-tax-relief piece to win broader support beyond Chicago and the northwest suburbs. Rep. Kam Buckner, the bill’s sponsor, said the revised package was meant to pair stadium incentives with homeowner relief. (nprillinois.org) The Bears have said tax certainty is necessary for Arlington Heights, but the team did not treat the House vote as a final deal. After the vote, the Bears said more changes are still needed before they can pursue the suburb as their next home. (yahoo.com) Critics have argued the plan could drain money from schools or reward the team for leaving Chicago. Supporters rewrote the bill to require additional negotiated payments and direct some of that money toward homeowner property-tax relief. (nbcchicago.com) The Arlington Heights site is not hypothetical land. The Bears bought the former Arlington Park property in February 2023, and the village says the parcel covers 326 acres. (vah.com) More pieces of a stadium package are still unresolved, especially infrastructure funding around Arlington Heights and possible help for Chicago if the team leaves Soldier Field. The Senate vote will decide whether the House’s first big step becomes the framework for those talks. (chicago.suntimes.com)