Chicago Bears blocked from stadium help once again as legislative clock runs out
SPRINGFIELD — Another legislative session came and went without the Chicago Bears breaking the line of scrimmage in Springfield for legislation to help them build a new stadium.With lawmakers scrambling to pass a state budget and agonizing over the future of mass transit, the Bears’ team of lobbyists was left on the Capitol sideline in their push for a bill that would potentially pave the way to a dome in Arlington Heights.The Bears had eyed so-called “megadevelopment” legislation that would freeze property tax assessments for massive projects and allow them to negotiate payments with local taxing bodies. That would give the team the property tax certainty they say they need to break ground on a $5 billion suburban development.Three bills surfaced in the General Assembly that could’ve thrown the team a block in their rush to the former Arlington International Racecourse, but none made any headway by the time lawmakers gaveled out early Sunday.Nor were funds set aside for any stadium projects in the $55.2 billion budget bill headed to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk — no surprise, given lawmakers’ ice-cold reception to the prospect of sinking taxpayer dollars into a dome since the $6 billion franchise bought the Arlington site in 2021.It’s the latest tough snap for Bears president Kevin Warren, who wanted to break ground on a stadium south of Soldier Field last year. The team announced it had shifted its focus back to Arlington in May.Bears representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment.Pritzker said he’s interested in megadevelopment legislation but not only for the Bears.“This is about making this a business-friendly, job-friendly state and not specifically about the Bears,” he said Sunday during an end-of-session press conference outside his Capitol office. “Just on a personal level, I would like them to stay in the city of Chicago … Having said that, as a private business, they'll choose to do what they like.”Though Pritzker has consistently rejected the idea of state help for the Bears, his office hired an outside stadium consultant last year to review the team’s proposals, a Chicago Tribune report revealed last week. Pritzker’s office called it “important to conduct due diligence and fully understand all the facts that could impact state taxpayers.”State Rep. Kam Buckner, the South Side Democrat whose district includes Soldier Field, said he and his Chicago colleagues left the session with “some optimism about what may be next.” They’ve urged the team to reconsider the former Michael Reese Hospital site in Bronzeville as a destination, though Warren has dismissed it as too narrow for an NFL stadium.“Regardless of all that, when we’re talking about a tough budget year and the fact that we still had a billion dollars worth of transit to figure out, I think tax breaks and property tax certainty and money for stadium development is not high on the list for the people of Illinois,” Buckner said.As for legislation that did reach the goal line over the weekend, the General Assembly approved Illinois’ latest efforts to further shield abortion access in the state from federal restrictions. A bill Pritzker pledged to sign would ensure medication abortion pills would remain legal in Illinois even if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revokes approval, as feared under the Trump administration by many abortion rights advocates.Both chambers also approved a measure aimed at reining in pharmacy benefit managers in an effort to lower prescription drug costs. The middlemen, known as PBMs, who manage prescription benefits for insurance companies would face new regulations and fees intended to prevent them from steering patients to preferred pharmacies.But it was a mixed bag of a session for the governor, who also saw other priorities he highlighted in his February budget address stall out in the Capitol.A measure that would’ve limited student cellphone use in class breezed through the Senate but never made it to the House floor for a vote. And a bill that would’ve allowed community colleges to offer select bachelor’s degree programs got stuck in a House committee.“You don't get everything done in one year,” Pritzker said. “Sometimes they spend two years, four years, six years, trying to get something big done.”
SPRINGFIELD — Another legislative session came and went without the Chicago Bears breaking the line of scrimmage in Springfield for legislation to help them build a new stadium.
With lawmakers scrambling to pass a state budget and agonizing over the future of mass transit, the Bears’ team of lobbyists was left on the Capitol sideline in their push for a bill that would potentially pave the way to a dome in Arlington Heights.
The Bears had eyed so-called “megadevelopment” legislation that would freeze property tax assessments for massive projects and allow them to negotiate payments with local taxing bodies. That would give the team the property tax certainty they say they need to break ground on a $5 billion suburban development.
Three bills surfaced in the General Assembly that could’ve thrown the team a block in their rush to the former Arlington International Racecourse, but none made any headway by the time lawmakers gaveled out early Sunday.
Nor were funds set aside for any stadium projects in the $55.2 billion budget bill headed to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk — no surprise, given lawmakers’ ice-cold reception to the prospect of sinking taxpayer dollars into a dome since the $6 billion franchise bought the Arlington site in 2021.
It’s the latest tough snap for Bears president Kevin Warren, who wanted to break ground on a stadium south of Soldier Field last year. The team announced it had shifted its focus back to Arlington in May.
Bears representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Pritzker said he’s interested in megadevelopment legislation but not only for the Bears.
“This is about making this a business-friendly, job-friendly state and not specifically about the Bears,” he said Sunday during an end-of-session press conference outside his Capitol office. “Just on a personal level, I would like them to stay in the city of Chicago … Having said that, as a private business, they'll choose to do what they like.”
Though Pritzker has consistently rejected the idea of state help for the Bears, his office hired an outside stadium consultant last year to review the team’s proposals, a Chicago Tribune report revealed last week. Pritzker’s office called it “important to conduct due diligence and fully understand all the facts that could impact state taxpayers.”
State Rep. Kam Buckner, the South Side Democrat whose district includes Soldier Field, said he and his Chicago colleagues left the session with “some optimism about what may be next.” They’ve urged the team to reconsider the former Michael Reese Hospital site in Bronzeville as a destination, though Warren has dismissed it as too narrow for an NFL stadium.
“Regardless of all that, when we’re talking about a tough budget year and the fact that we still had a billion dollars worth of transit to figure out, I think tax breaks and property tax certainty and money for stadium development is not high on the list for the people of Illinois,” Buckner said.
As for legislation that did reach the goal line over the weekend, the General Assembly approved Illinois’ latest efforts to further shield abortion access in the state from federal restrictions. A bill Pritzker pledged to sign would ensure medication abortion pills would remain legal in Illinois even if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revokes approval, as feared under the Trump administration by many abortion rights advocates.
Both chambers also approved a measure aimed at reining in pharmacy benefit managers in an effort to lower prescription drug costs. The middlemen, known as PBMs, who manage prescription benefits for insurance companies would face new regulations and fees intended to prevent them from steering patients to preferred pharmacies.
But it was a mixed bag of a session for the governor, who also saw other priorities he highlighted in his February budget address stall out in the Capitol.
A measure that would’ve limited student cellphone use in class breezed through the Senate but never made it to the House floor for a vote. And a bill that would’ve allowed community colleges to offer select bachelor’s degree programs got stuck in a House committee.
“You don't get everything done in one year,” Pritzker said. “Sometimes they spend two years, four years, six years, trying to get something big done.”
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