Chicago Bears call latest state plan to aid Arlington Heights move an ‘excellent foundation,’ but talks will continue

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Negotiations over proposed state assistance for the Chicago Bears’ move to northwest suburban Arlington Heights will continue into the summer as the team on Wednesday weighed in publicly for the first time on a plan before lawmakers that would offer the property tax “certainty” sought by club owners.

The team and a coalition of business and labor groups said in a statement read during an Illinois House committee hearing that a proposal from Democratic state Rep. Marty Moylan of Des Plaines “provides an excellent foundation for the Chicago Bears to work closely with its coalition partners, including business and labor leaders, and with all the concerned municipalities to develop legislation over the summer that meets the needs of the Chicagoland region and powers one of the biggest construction projects in the state’s history.”

Moylan told the committee that he plans to continue negotiating with the team and representatives from Chicago, Arlington Heights and other northwest suburban communities, and affected school districts to reach a deal.

“This bill would help fuel the biggest economic development project in the northwest suburbs, but equally important, it would be another valuable tool for developers of megaprojects across Illinois to create tens of thousands of jobs and spur massive economic growth,” Moylan told the committee, which did not take a vote on the measure.

“It’s important we get this bill off the goal line,” Moylan said.

The decision to defer action on a Bears stadium plan comes as the Democratic-controlled legislature looks this week to wrap up a shortened postelection session during which lawmakers have not tackled many controversial pieces of legislation, and as Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker has taken a hands-off approach to the negotiations on the issue.

The Bears have said they will pay to build a new stadium but would only proceed with their planned $5 billion mixed-use development if they get tax “certainty” and public funding for infrastructure.

Moylan’s proposal, the latest version of which was introduced just last week, would freeze the property tax assessment for up to 40 years on the former Arlington International Racecourse site, which the Bears purchased earlier this year for $197 million, and create a $3 admission tax on all events on the site to help pay off debt incurred to fund renovations of Soldier Field two decades ago.

It also would create an oversight board made up of municipal, school and Park District officials from Arlington Heights and neighboring communities to approve incentive agreements with the Bears. In exchange for the assessment freeze, the Bears would negotiate an annual payment to the village of Arlington Heights to be shared with other local taxing districts.

The Bears separately have been negotiating with the local school districts that could see an influx of students from the residential component of the planned development, but those talks appear to be at a standstill.

Under the legislative proposal, revenue generated at the site from state sales tax, hotel tax and liquor taxes, and a new 3% surcharge on sports betting revenue would be divvied up to help Arlington Heights and surrounding communities pay for infrastructure improvements.

Arlington Heights would get 30% of the revenue, Palatine and Rolling Meadows each would get 14% and Cook County, Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg and Wheeling would each get 6%.

But those specifics all are subject to negotiation as talks carry on past Friday’s scheduled adjournment of the legislature’s spring session. Lawmakers aren’t scheduled to return to Springfield until this fall, when they could take up a revised version.

Rep. Mary Beth Canty, an Arlington Heights Democrat who just completed a term on the village board, said it’s important for the state to help establish a framework for local governments to negotiate with the Bears and other businesses over large-scale economic development projects.

“I’m a resident of Arlington Heights just as much as I am a representative representing the town of Arlington Heights. I have no desire to be footing the bill for a multibillion-dollar organization to expand their empire,” said Canty, who signed on as a co-sponsor of Moylan’s proposal. “So I intend to make sure that our taxpayers in Arlington Heights and Rolling Meadows and the surrounding suburbs are not fleeced by this deal.”

It’s too soon to say whether negotiations will produce a final agreement by the time lawmakers return to the Capitol this fall, Canty said, adding, “I’d rather get it right than fast.”

Democratic state Sen. Ann Gillespie of Arlington Heights, who earlier introduced a similar proposal that included a property tax assessment freeze — even as she expressed skepticism about the idea — said the apparent breakdown of talks with the local school districts is “not a particularly good sign, from my perspective.”

“Whatever package we do ... we can’t do it with expense of the school districts, of other residential property taxpayers,” Gillespie said. “It’s got to be something that’s equitable.”

The Bears also need to garner the support of Chicago legislators who are reluctant to help the team leave its namesake city while taxpayers are still paying off the last round of renovations at Soldier Field.

While the proposed $3-per-ticket tax would help cover some of the more than $600 million in outstanding debt from the renovations two decades ago, the Bears’ presence helps generate other tax revenue for the city that would be lost with the team’s departure, said Rep. Kam Buckner, a Democrat whose district is home to Soldier Field.

Buckner previously worked in the Chicago Cubs’ front office and noted the team cut the city “a big check every single year” to cover Chicago’s 9% amusement tax.

“I think it’s important to also talk about the loss of that tax revenue” should the Bears leave town, Buckner said.

The inauguration of Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday alters the makeup of the negotiating table, and it remains to be seen how Chicago’s new leader will approach talks with the team.

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