Lawmakers sweeten pot to keep Bears in Illinois, with stadium bill linked to statewide property tax relief

Illinois hopes to take the lead over Indiana in the Chicago Bears stadium battle with a new proposal that would give the NFL team property tax certainty while also providing a statewide property tax relief sweetener.

State Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, plans to brief Illinois House Democrats on the new amendment Tuesday. The PILOT measure, shorthand for payment in lieu of taxes, would allow the Bears to renegotiate their property taxes with Arlington Heights. The property tax relief element, a new addition to stadium-related legislation in Springfield, is essential in getting support from lawmakers outside of Chicago, including Republicans.

Buckner told the Chicago Sun-Times he would push for lawmakers to hold a committee hearing on the measure and get the proposal to the floor this week as soon as possible, depending on how much support, or resistance, he hears in the caucus.

“It’ll do something that the state has not done, that other states have not done in megaprojects legislation. It’ll actually consider how these things should be able to help regular taxpayers as well,” Buckner said. "I’m finding a way to bake [in] some property tax relief for homeowners across the state.”

Buckner said the measure will look at what a special incentive payment looks like for communities, and how a portion of that must go to property tax relief efforts, “both for folks affected in the immediate area, and for folks around the state.”

“To me, it has to be more than a token,” Buckner said.

Asked whether the property tax element would help homes or businesses, Buckner acknowledged details were still being worked out but said it would include “definitely a break for homeowners.”

“It may look like a rebate. It may look like a circuit breaker piece. It may look like money up front on property taxes," Buckner said. “I’m literally working on the fine points of it as we speak, and trying to put together the best version of it.”

Much of the resistance from Chicago Democrats comes from questions about what will happen to Soldier Field — and how the city will deal with the loss of revenue from the team leaving Chicago. Buckner called Soldier Field concerns “part two” of the discussion. First he has to get the property tax assurance for the Bears squared away for an Arlington Heights domed stadium.

“This bill is not a Soldier Field bill,” Buckner said. “This is a statewide megaproject mechanism. … This bill will have some things in it that will be helpful for Chicago, particularly because these are things that will be helpful for municipalities across the state. But I don’t think we’ve finished the conversation yet about Soldier Field. We’re still working through that.”

The property tax piece is an essential first step to move the Bears forward in their Arlington Heights plans. Then lawmakers would take up the infrastructure piece, “and something has to be attached to that about Chicago,” Buckner said.

Buckner said he is confident there are enough votes to clear the first part of the puzzle.

“You won’t see this bill on the board if the votes were not there,” he said.

There is pressure building from the NFL — and Gov. JB Pritzker — to get a deal done as soon as possible, especially with Indiana lawmakers nipping at Illinois lawmakers’ heels with its own proposed stadium.

Chicago Democrats are unlikely to support a measure without other assurances, including discussion of a $630 million ask from the Chicago Park District to renovate and refresh Soldier Field and ease the transportation bottleneck that makes it difficult to get in and out of the Museum Campus.

“I think the Chicago Dems have to find reasons to support it, and I don’t think we know enough to say that we are going to support it,” Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, said. “But as it is, I think Chicago Dems have lots of questions as to, ‘Why should we?’ We’re looking for benefits for Chicago. It’s going to be all about how does it benefit Chicago, and will there be a loss in Chicago?”

Bears chairman George McCaskey and president/CEO Kevin Warren met with Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., Friday on the site of the team’s proposed Northwest Indiana stadium. The team characterized the gathering as the latest step in due diligence while considering a move across the border to Indiana.

The meeting took place at the Lost Marsh Golf Club near Wolf Lake, where the Bears would build if they decide to move to Indiana.

The Bears expect to make a decision by late spring or early summer.

Contributing: Patrick Finley