La Shawn Ford, who represents the 8th District in the Illinois House of Representatives, is filing legislation to sell the state-owned property where the White Sox play on Chicago’s South Side.
Though Guaranteed Rate Field isn’t in the 8th District — which encompasses part of Chicago’s Austin neighborhood and the Forest Park suburb — Ford said selling this land would benefit more than just the South Side, allowing Illinois to pay off debt associated with the White Sox and receive revenue from property taxes, which the state doesn’t pay.
The attempt to pass legislation comes after a recent report that White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is open to selling the team.
To sell state-owned property, Ford has to get authorization from the state by filing legislation, something he says must be done at some point if the state eventually wants to sell the land.
“Whether we sell it today or not, we still need a bill to be passed to allow for the state to sell the land,” Ford said.
“The state has a need for revenue,” he added. And the White Sox aren’t exactly a money-making team.
The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority owns the land that Guaranteed Rate Field sits on. The group was created in 1987 as a way to fund the state’s professional sports teams and the construction or renovation of their stadiums, according to WGN TV.
Guaranteed Rate Field has cost the government $200 million since 2010, South Side Weekly reported earlier this year. But the White Sox have only paid ISFA about $27 million back in that time.
Even if the Sox stays at Guaranteed Rate Field, selling the land to a private developer would increase the amount the city gets in taxes from the property.
That money, Ford said, could be used to fund deferred maintenance or expanded housing for Illinois universities, many of which Ford said are requesting one or both from legislators.
For example, Chicago State has $89 million of deferred maintenance and $192 million of additional renovations that need to be completed, according to The Daily Line.
“While we have a sports team that has their hands out saying they need money to build a stadium,” Ford said, “we need to make sure that we speak up for our public universities and communities that need development.”
“By redirecting proceeds from a potential sale of this prime real estate, Illinois could make transformative investments in higher education, ensuring safe, state-of-the-art learning environments that attract students and faculty,” Ford wrote in a letter to Gov. JB Pritzker earlier this month, calling for the sale of the property and telling him he’d be filing legislation to do so. “This would strengthen our educational infrastructure and provide a lasting economic boost to our state.”
If Reinsdorf sells the team, and the state sells the property, Guaranteed Rate Field could become housing, businesses, or both through a mixed-use concept. This, Ford said, would improve the state of Chicago’s economy.
“There’s a need for housing, and there’s a need for business growth in that area,” Ford said, both of which would create revenue for the state.
He added that the location of Guaranteed Rate Field, next to the Red Line and the expressway, is an ideal location.
“It’s a perfect place for development of housing, shopping, and we can’t miss this opportunity,” Ford said. “We have to find a way to stop Illinoisans from leaving, and this is one way to do that.”
Ford said he learned about filing legislation to sell state-owned property through his involvement in the sale of the Thompson Center. In 2022, the state sold the building that once housed its government headquarters to a development firm for $30 million and the acquisition of a $75 million office building downtown. Google is expected to move into the building after what is expected to be years of renovations are completed, according to Capitol News Illinois.
“The county now receives the benefit of the new landowner paying property taxes,” Ford said. “And they’re going to create jobs and other opportunities for tax revenue for the state and the city and the county — without regressive taxing.”
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October 28, 2024 at 11:52AM
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