When it came time to hatch a plan for how to keep the Bears from fleeing to Indiana, the Illinois House turned to a one-time Soldier Field usher born in Chicago during the Super Bowl shufflin’ year that was 1985.

Democratic state Rep. KAM BUCKNER is hopeful that a likely-to-be-revised version of the economic development bill that passed the House 78-32 last week gets the same support from the Senate, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and, of course, Da Bears.

“The Bears and governor have said they’re going to make some changes to it, which is part and parcel of the way the legislative process works, but all in all, we’ve made tremendous strides the last few weeks,” Buckner said on Tuesday’s edition of News-Gazette Radio, powered by GTPS Insurance.

A 2007 UI economics grad and former Illini defensive lineman, Buckner said the state wouldn’t join the list of others to “write billion-dollar checks to billion-dollar owners.” So while Indiana promised more than $1 billion in public subsidies for a new Bears stadium across the state line in Hammond, Illinois’ deal does not include funding that would go directly toward the building of the franchise’s desired $2 billion dome in Arlington Heights.

Rather, the bill calls for the Bears to negotiate long-term property tax breaks with local taxing bodies, with any special payments made by the franchise used to lower property tax bills of local residents and Illinoisans statewide. The same arrangement would be available to similar future “megaprojects.”

Whether the Bears continue to play at Soldier Field or on the grounds of the former Arlington Heights racetrack wasn’t part of Buckner’s charge: “My job — and the job of people who are in my position — is to make sure that wherever that city is … the comma after it says ‘Illinois.’”

On Tuesday’s show, Buckner also weighed in on the job fifth-year Illini football coach Bret Bielema has done.

“Bret has done something at Illinois that people should not underrate. He has made competence feel normal. Those who’ve been around awhile know that’s a big deal. This program is not living off one cute season anymore. They just had back-to-back nine-win seasons for the first time in history. Back-to-back ranked seasons for the first time since the late ’80s. … That’s not a blip. That’s architecture.

“And what I like most about Bret is he has given Illinois an identify that travels. They’re not just trying to look good on Saturday. They’re trying to be physical at the point of attack, they’re sound defensively, they’ve been able to win field position, develop older players and make you play a four-quarter game, no matter who you are.

"That matters in this league, especially in the new Big Ten. You better be able to win when it’s 38 degrees, windy and the other side has NFL bodies on the sidelines.”

Coming Wednesday

Guests include 29-time Emmy-winning sportscaster Bob Costas, Hound’s Court owner Jim Enderle and Craig Allen Smith, star of the touring musical “Mrs. Doubtfire,” which stops Saturday at State Farm Center.