New Bears bill introduced for Arlington Heights

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – A state representative has filed new legislation aimed at keeping the Chicago Bears in Illinois, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker says the Bears have to decide what they want first.

State Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills, filed the Taxpayer and Investment Protection Act on Monday.

House Bill 5797 applies to private developments with more than $2.5 billion of investments located in counties with more than one million people.

The proposal calls for the state to spend $1.2 billion on infrastructure for a Bears-owned stadium and surrounding development.

McLaughlin said the bill includes a negotiated property tax up front, based on the Bears’ $200 million land purchase in Arlington Heights.

“What that would be going forward, whether it’s three or four or $500 million, they set a 2.5% tax rate, and that goes up each and every year for 30 years,” McLaughlin told The Center Square.

McLaughlin said a third-party auditor would review the Bears, the state and local taxing bodies to prevent cost shifting.

“They’ll be called out on an annual basis, and that’s where the protection is. There’s an audit that’ll be done each and every year, so it’s a straight business deal. There’s no gimmicks,” McLaughlin said.

When asked by The Center Square on Tuesday about McLaughlin’s proposal, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the Bears need to express what they want in two bills that already passed separately in the House and the Senate.

“So just randomly putting a bill in that might be your idea or Representative McLaughlin’s idea doesn’t necessarily solve the problem of what the Bears may want,” Pritzker said at a budget-signing event in Chicago.

McLaughlin said he wanted to move a bill forward because the idea that Chicago is still in play is now over, but Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said on Tuesday his city is not off the table.

State Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, is also expected to file Bears stadium-related legislation this week.

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, said it’s important to find out if all involved stakeholders can agree on a bill before considering a special session of the legislature.

“I think Illinois is still the place the Bears want to be,” Welch said.