Arlington Heights’ neighbors want in on Bears talks

The mayors of Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Schaumburg have asked state leaders for a seat at the table in discussions about infrastructure upgrades that would be needed around a Chicago Bears stadium in Arlington Heights.

The mayors say they also want to see a transportation/traffic study the NFL club’s consultants have been working on — since that would guide the kind of infrastructure work that needs to be done — while expressing frustration such an analysis isn’t yet complete more than three years after the team acquired the 326-acre Arlington Park property.

While supportive of a Bears move to the Northwest suburbs, the local mayors — Jim Schwantz of Palatine, Lara Sanoica of Rolling Meadows and Tom Dailly of Schaumburg — outlined their concerns in recent weeks in correspondence to Gov. JB Pritzker, Senate President Don Harmon and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch.

“Our main concern is that state decision makers are relying on the Chicago Bears Football Club to determine what infrastructure needs to be included. The team likely will focus on a ‘range ring’ of one mile or less and we believe state leaders must see the larger picture, including improvements needed two to three miles from the stadium site,” the mayors wrote in the initial April 2 letter to state leaders.

That could include upgrades to Route 53 and its interchanges with Interstate 90/Jane Addams Tollway, Algonquin Road, Kirchoff Road, Euclid Avenue, Northwest Highway and Palatine Road, the mayors suggested. Improvements to those roadways will be needed in addition to other local roads, depending on how parking facilities and ingress/egress are designed, they added.

The large, confusing mix of ramps at the intersection of Route 53 and Interstate 90 is of particular concern to Dailly, who has been calling for changes there for at least two decades and believes Bears traffic will only exacerbate what he says is “a mess” already.

“Anybody who travels that knows what it’s like,” he said. “It’s terrible.”

The Schaumburg mayor favors flyover bridges to improve the flow of traffic, similar to those built by the state on the south end of town along Interstate 390.

“We just want to make sure that the road network is not forgotten about here and that we don’t end up having this mess whenever there’s games and concerts and all the other stuff that is planned to happen over there,” Dailly said. “So yes, we are supportive of the Bears coming to Arlington Heights — we think it’s a great location — but there will be some things needed to be done.”

“We just don’t want it to be forgotten and that everybody is so focused on the Arlington Heights location that they forget looking around,” he added.

A Pritzker spokesman issued a statement in response to the mayors’ request to get involved in negotiations.

“The governor’s office appreciates local leaders continuing to engage in conversations surrounding regional infrastructure and a potential Bears stadium development and encourages local leaders to also engage directly with the Bears and Arlington Heights regarding local infrastructure needs tied to the project. As discussions move forward, the state remains committed to working collaboratively with stakeholders and local partners.”

While the state House last month approved megaproject legislation that could pave the way to a stadium in Arlington Heights, the Bears want changes to the bill, which are now being negotiated behind closed doors before the measure gets a vote in the Senate.

Also unresolved is the team’s ask for public dollars for roads, utilities and site improvements in and around the old racetrack site — as much as $850 million, by one estimate.

Since his state of the village address in March, Schwantz has continued to express fear Palatine would have to take on debt to pay a portion of those costs.

Dailly said no one has gotten a clear explanation from state leaders about possible local budgetary or tax impacts related to infrastructure.

“We have inquired, but we’re not getting any feedback as to how the payments are going to be made, what kind of expansions, what will happen,” he said. “We’re not hearing anything. It’s rather frustrating.”

In a May 5 follow-up letter, the mayors said they learned from conversations with officials negotiating a Bears stadium deal in Springfield — Deputy Gov. Andy Manar, state Sen. Bill Cunningham and state Rep. Kam Buckner — that decisions about infrastructure won’t be made until the Bears’ traffic study is complete.

Were they given assurances they’d get a seat at the table when the study is done?

“It was implied that they would want to make sure that communities around there that potentially would be impacted would have a seat there,” Dailly said. “It’s not guaranteed. I’d like to hope that they would. (Schaumburg’s) impact is probably minimal. But it still would be nice to be able to sit there.”