Buckner Says Bears Stadium Vote This Week "In a Perfect World"
Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) speaks at a news conference in 2025. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
Late Monday night ahead of the House return to Springfield, Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), the lead sponsor of the “megaprojects” property tax bill also aimed at keeping the Chicago Bears in the state of Illinois says he’s confident the legislation can move out of the chamber this week.
“I think we’re in a really good spot,” Buckner said. “When we are able to file a bill on this and are able to walk through specifics of a bill with our caucus, I think people will see that this is something that is a benefit and a boon to the entire state of Illinois, including the City of Chicago.”
Chicago Democrats, who total more than 30 of the 78 House Democratic caucus, have pushed back in private caucus meetings in recent months over being forced to take a vote to allow the Bears to leave the City of Chicago, an issue Buckner says he believes members are coming around on.
“I think the Chicago delegation is extremely prudent and logical in asking, in the overall scheme of things, what this means for the city of Chicago,” he said. “If we’re talking just particularly about a Bears stadium conversation, this is bigger than that and there are still things that have to be sorted out on the stadium side.”
Democrats are likely to discuss the issue at a private caucus meeting later today.
There were reports Monday that Illinois Federation of Teachers and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates was lobbying against the bill unless schools received their full property tax assessments under the legislation.
Buckner hinted the final bill will reflect negotiations with labor, not last minute demands.
“I think what we’ll see will reflect real conversations with labor, with developers, with communities,” he said. “It will put in place one of the strongest frameworks I’ve seen anywhere in the country to make sure that if development happens, it actually delivers for workers, for neighborhoods and for the people who we are supposed to represent.”
