(104.3 The Score) The Illinois spring legislative session ended in the wee hours of Monday morning without a stadium deal to help keep the Bears in the state, leaving uncertainty as to what comes next.
The Illinois Senate approved a revised bill to help fund the Bears’ stadium early Monday morning, but the House adjourned without taking a vote. The team has insisted it’s considering properties in Arlington Heights and Hammond, Indiana and has hoped to have a decision by early summer.
"We will finalize our evaluation of both Arlington Heights and Hammond, and remain on the late spring/early summer timeline that we have previously communicated,” the Bears said in a statement Monday. “We will provide an update when we have a decision to share."
Illinois will next hold a legislative session in the fall. A revised bill that was presented Sunday would create a Bears stadium authority in Cook County – for a stadium to be built in Arlington Heights or the city of Chicago – and allow the team to not pay property taxes, state senator Bill Cunningham told reporters in Springfield. The Senate approved that bill, but the House didn't take it up as lawmakers wanted to learn much more about the bill before deciding and potentially voting.
Previously, the Bears’ proposal to obtain property tax certainty was included as part of a megaprojects bill for the state of Illinois, which would allow large deals like a stadium project to negotiate property taxes with local municipalities. That concept was met by strong pushback, forcing necessary revisions over the weekend more specific to the Bears.
In February, the state of Indiana passed a bill that would allow the Bears to build a new stadium over the border in Hammond, doing so without paying property taxes. The Indiana bill would be funded by a 1% food and beverage tax in Lake and Porter counties along with a 5% increase in the Lake County innkeeper tax. Those taxes would generate around $20 million annually. The Bears have pledged $2 billion in private funding for the construction of the stadium, and the team would purchase the stadium once bonds are paid in full to the state.
“To me, this isn’t a competition with (Indiana) and Illinois,” Indiana state senator Ryan Mishler, who sponsored the bill, said after it passed through the state senate in February. “I mean, for us, the way we look at it or me personally, this is something we worked out with them. We know what we have. If it’s something (the Bears) want, then they’ll do it.
“We got a really good final product out there. For what I understand about this mega-projects bill, it’s basically about property taxes. In Indiana, they wouldn’t even pay property taxes. So, I don’t know where the comparison is there.”
The Bears closed on their purchase on the 326-acre property in Arlington Heights, formerly the Arlington International Racecourse, in February 2023 after initially reaching a $197.2-million purchase agreement in September 2021.
The Bears demolished the racecourse in late 2023 but haven't completed any significant work on the now-vacant property. In early 2024, team president Kevin Warren unveiled a plan with Chicago city officials, including Mayor Brandon Johnson, for a stadium to be constructed south of Soldier Field along the lakefront. However, significant hurdles remained for that project amid the flashy renderings.
Last December, Warren wrote in an open letter that the Bears would also consider options in northwest Indiana. That coincided with Indiana officials forming legislation for the stadium plan in Hammond.
The Bears have played their home games at Soldier Field since 1971. The team operates under a lease for the stadium that runs through 2033. The buyout for the remainder of that lease is reduced each year.
Chris Emma covers the Bears and the Chicago sports scene for 104.3 The Score.
