Crunch Time to Save Bears Mess
Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), House sponsor of legislation aimed to give the Chicago Bears “tax certainty” for a stadium in Arlington Heights. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
On the same day Indiana lawmakers sent a final version of a stadium construction bill to Governor Mike Braun aimed at luring the Chicago Bears to the Hoosier State, Braun signed the bill into law, upping the ante in the already tense battle between the two states for the team.
While the Indiana Senate gave final approval of their bill, House lawmakers in Springfield advanced a bill through committee to give the team and construction of other business “mega projects” the opportunity to significantly negotiate lower property tax rates for their developments.
The Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, bill, advanced through the House Revenue & Finance committee by a partisan 13-7 vote.
But the bill faces an uncertain future in the House, where Chicago Democrats appear reluctant to vote for a bill allowing the Bears to leave the city, even if it is to Arlington Heights.
Even Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), the sponsor of the legislation, said he’s not fully supportive until Chicago is “made whole,” which likely includes the Bears picking up at least a part of the roughly $500 million in debt remaining on the 2002 Soldier Field renovation cost.
While Indiana’s bill is already law, Buckner told reporters after the hearing Thursday he isn’t feeling pressured to take immediate action.
“I think what they have done there and what they have rolled out has not risen to a level of the pandemonium that’s been surrounding it,” he said. “I think that there’s still people in that state that either don’t know or are unsure about the smorgasbord of tax increases that’s attached to their proposal. We’re doing our job. We’re doing what we’re supposed to do. We’re operating in our lane. And I think the Bears will see that we’re moving in the right direction, and that’s how these negotiations go.”
An Indiana source told The Illinoize that a deal with the team for a site in Hammond, Indiana “isn’t done yet,” but that it is becoming a “race against time” for the team to get fed up and sign a final deal with Indiana.
Even if House leadership wanted to move on the PILOT bill quickly, the chamber doesn’t return to Springfield until March 18.
