Bears Bill Facing Major Senate Hurdles
Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago), the Senate sponsor of the Bears/megaprojects legislation.
With less than two weeks remaining before the scheduled adjournment of spring legislative session, we’re finally getting a sense of where the Senate stands on legislation aimed at keeping the Chicago Bears in Illinois.
Senators have been eerily quiet on the so-called “megaprojects” legislation, which has morphed into a will-they-or-won’t-they drama over whether the team builds a new stadium in suburban Arlington Heights or moves across the state line to Hammond, Indiana.
Consternation over the bill is leaving the Bears uneasy, too, multiple sources tell The Illinoize.
Multiple legislative sources say the Bears bill was a major topic of discussion in Tuesdays private Senate Democratic caucus meeting. We’re told very little was agreed on except the version of the bill passed by the House last month wouldn’t be acceptable in the Senate.
“It appears the House bill needs a lot of work,” one source said.
Another source says the Senate reaction to the bill could best be described as “tepid,” but said Democrats want to be “responsible” in crafting the final legislation.
But tensions were escalating among some Senators, who believe the wrangling over the bill between the team, the House, and Governor JB Pritzker has left some senators “pissed” because they feel the chamber is being set up to be the “fall guy.”
Other lawmakers are frustrated they’re caught in the middle of a high stakes battle between Pritzker, the McCaskey family, which owns the Bears, and Indiana.
“This is just a fight among big egos who don’t care about winning and want to see the other side lose,” one source said. “We’re just trying to do the right thing by taxpayers.
We’re told Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago), the Senate sponsor of the legislation, told the caucus Tuesday negotiations were “too fluid” to lock down on many specifics.
“Everything is up for negotiation,” he reportedly told the caucus.
Cunningham was specifically asked about comments from Gov. Pritzker in recent days that hinted he supports stripping much of the House version of the bill down to the original agreement on the so-called Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, at the heart of the original deal. Sources say Cunningham was “not forthcoming” on the strategy. Another source said Cunningham did not offer “a lot of specifics.”
Through a Senate spokesman, Cunningham said Tuesday a committee hearing on the legislation this week was “possible, but not likely.”
So, where does that leave the Bears?
Top sources with knowledge of the team’s strategy say the team is most interested in staying in Illinois, but may be running out of patience with lawmakers and Gov. Pritzker.
“They want a new stadium as soon as possible,” the source said. “The question is, they’ve spent a ton of money trying to stay here in Illinois and it’s been frustrating. It feels like Illinois doesn’t want them to stay. They’re not getting the same reciprocal investment here in this process.”
If the Illinois deal falls through, the Bears continue their “due diligence” on the Hammond site, which the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday may have some environmental concerns.
“The longer [the team] has to fully investigate, the closer they’ll get to a conclusion,” the source said.
As the clock ticks, though, we’re told the Senate is “stil working” on the deal, but we’re also told conversations with the House haven’t picked back up. “Literally nothing,” described one House source.
“Mum’s the word,” a source said. “And that doesn’t look promising at all.”
