When it comes to the future of the Chicago Bears, many eyes in Illinois are on a stadium plan that was passed by the Illinois Senate in the early hours of June 1.
Gov. JB Pritzker said he believes the Bears should merge parts of separate proposals that passed the Illinois House and Senate but their original ask for a payment in lieu of property taxes has no path forward.
“So the question really is, what is it that they’re willing to compromise on to make sure that the state government, the legislature, the governor can support it?” Pritzker said at a news conference touting state legislation to assist communities affected by recent storms.
Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tinaglia said Thursday’s Bears press conference indicates there’s still time to get a deal done for the megaproject and stadium in his village.
He said the proposal that passed the Senate gives them the best shot.
“We believe that is still very doable for us to get behind,” Tinaglia said. “It’s entirely possible that that one has the most potential to get support all the way around…if I had to guess, my guess is that’s the bill that might be one that could get enough support.”
The Senate bill passed with a bipartisan supermajority.
It would:
- Allow communities like Arlington Heights to establish a public stadium authority to own the stadium, which means the Bears would pay zero property taxes.
- The team would be on the hook for all the costs of building the stadium. The statehouse punted on the plan, with House Speaker Chris Welch saying they needed more time to study it.
“The Senate passed it with a supermajority, all that has to happen is to get Chris Welch to put it up for vote in the House and get a supermajority,” said sports business consultant Marc Ganis.
On Thursday – Bears President Kevin Warren and Chairman George McCaskey indicated they were solely focused on the Wolf Lake site in Hammond, Indiana, but left the door open a crack.
“We felt we had presented a pretty compelling case that a stadium in Arlington would be good for the community, good for the state,” McCaskey said at that news conference.
Tinaglia said that until contracts are signed in Indiana – there’s still hope.
“We’re still hoping for the best,” Tinaglia said. “I really believe that Arlington Heights is the better place for them. I think a lot of people believe that.”
NBC Chicago reached out to Sen. Bill Cunningham, the sponsor of the bill in the Senate, and Rep. Kam Buckner, the House sponsor, but did not hear back.
Region: Chicago,Local,City: Chicago
via Local – NBC Chicago https://ift.tt/5uI7ij4
August 14, 2026 at 06:29PM
Illinois Delivered 