MOORE’S SUMMARY: Rep. Kam Buckner is pushing back on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s characterization of his megaprojects bill as a giveaway for large developers that would harm Chicago.

WHY IT MATTERS: Johnson will be in Springfield with other mayors on Wednesday, in large part lobbying against Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposal to leave the Local Government Distributive Fund flat – effectively a cut in the share of state income taxes Springfield send to local governments.

But Johnson’s unofficial agenda includes undercutting a megaprojects bill that would allow large developers, including the Bears, to negotiate a payment in lieu of taxes with local taxing bodies for up to 40 years. The Bears have said the tax certainty is necessary to build on land they own in Arlington Heights. And if they don’t get it, they’ve threatened to leave Illinois for Indiana, where lawmakers have approved a package that would include $1 billion in public subsidies for stadium construction.

Johnson wants the Bears to stay in Chicago — a move that looks less likely by the day. The team has made clear they will either build in Arlington Heights or Hammond, though Johnson is still lobbying against the megaprojects bill that cleared the Illinois House last month.

Despite that bill’s passage, the Bears, Pritzker and top lawmakers in the Senate have indicated that changes are necessary. It would ostensibly clear the path for the Bears to stay in Illinois. But that would likely mean leaving their longtime home on the city’s lakefront.

‘MISMATCH’: Johnson, speaking to reporters in Chicago on Tuesday, criticized lawmakers for prioritizing the legislation — which doesn’t require an appropriation of state dollars —   over finding additional revenue to fund progressive priorities like K-12 education. He also took issue with the state’s willingness to fund hundreds of millions of dollars of infrastructure at the Arlington Heights site.

“The type of tax structure that they would set up for large corporations and billionaires without a clear pathway to provide certainty as well as equity for everyday working people, I believe that’s a mismatch there,” Johnson said. “And quite frankly, the infrastructure they’re even discussing in the suburbs — those infrastructure needs have been present on the lakefront for a very long time.”

Johnson also questioned “why any Chicago legislator would vote for anything that doesn’t benefit the people that they represent,” referring to the megaprojects bill.

‘MISUNDERSTANDING’: Buckner, the lead House negotiator of the megaprojects bill, told Capitol News Illinois that he believed there was “some misunderstanding about what’s in the bill.” But he added that he’s “happy to work with the city on making that clear” and open to suggestions for improving the bill.

“You can’t get the apples if you don’t shake the tree, which is what he needs to do down here,” Buckner, whose district includes Soldier Field, said. “I’m glad he’s doing it. But this bill is in no way, shape or form a blank check for developers, a blank check for billionaires, a blank check specifically for the Chicago Bears. We’ve made that very clear.”

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CHEAPER THAN JOHNSON’S PLAN? “This is not like what we’ve seen either in 1989 or 2001 or, frankly, the proposal that we saw two years ago that the mayor supported that asked for Springfield to give $2.5 billion to the Bears,” Buckner added. “This is not that. So I agree with him that we can’t give a blank check to billionaires. That’s exactly why we don’t do it.”

Buckner was referencing public subsidies for construction of Rate Field and renovating Soldier Field, as well as an earlier plan backed by Johnson to build a new Bears stadium on the lakefront. That plan would have required $900 million in public subsidies for direct stadium construction and another $1.5 billion for infrastructure.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE CITY? Buckner also pushed back on the narrative that the bill was not good for Chicago, saying it was “replete with tools that the city of Chicago can use to continue to grow and develop and to be competitive in a really tough space.”

Under the legislation, blighted or underused rail yards in Chicago would be eligible for their own type of megaproject aimed at redeveloping and revitalizing the yards. This could open the door to massive new projects being considered in the city, such as a new White Sox stadium being floated for an Amtrak yard along the Chicago River just south of the Loop and the One Central project near McCormick Place.

The bill would also expand the state’s Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR, bond program to make communities in Cook County with more than 70,000 people eligible.  STAR bonds could also be used for entertainment developments.

“And so I think those 33 Chicago delegation members who voted yes for that bill two weeks ago saw that, and that included folks from across the political spectrum,” Buckner said, noting that only two Chicago legislators voted against the bill.

PROPERTY TAX RELIEF: A key component of the House bill is a provision dedicating 50% of PILOT receipts towards property tax rebates, with 60% of that going towards homeowners in taxing districts that have a megaproject and 40% going to a statewide rebate fund.

Gov. JB Pritzker’s office released an analysis earlier this week that found that a hypothetical $20 million PILOT payment would result in just a $1.29 rebate for the average homeowner.

But Buckner said that with the property tax provision, they’ve “changed the complexion of the way these deals work.”

“We stood this fund up in 2019 and we have, to this day, yet to fund it,” Buckner said, referring to the statewide property tax relief fund. “And so this is about a promise kept.”

Even if it’s a small amount, it’s a start, Buckner said, referring to the Billy Preston song “Nothing from Nothing” on the need to get the fund kickstarted.

“And that’s where we are on property tax relief right now,” Buckner said. “So the House decided to be bold. We heard the Bears and the developers say that they wanted property tax certainty. And we heard the people who we represent say that they want property tax relief. We dare to believe we can do both of them, and I still believe we can make it happen.”