‘Clearly a fumble’: Arlington Heights mayor calls out state lawmakers over lack of Bears deal

Hours after state lawmakers failed to act on legislation to bring a new Chicago Bears stadium to Arlington Heights, Mayor Jim Tinaglia said Monday village officials are “truly disappointed” and will continue to seek opportunities to redevelop the former Arlington Park site.

“Although we recognize that these discussions are complex and involve many stakeholders, this is clearly a fumble for the state of Illinois,” Tinaglia said in a written statement released by the village. “My commitment to the residents and businesses of Arlington Heights is unwavering, and we will continue to represent the interests of our community as future opportunities and next steps are considered.”

In a follow-up interview, Tinaglia said, “The ball is squarely in the Bears' hands” for what comes next.

“There's nothing more that Arlington Heights can do,” he said. “We have worked on this for more than five years. We have given it everything. We have done all that we can, and I believe the Bears feel the same way about us, that we have tried so hard to make this a reality.

“And that's why I'm so disappointed that we couldn't get the support,” he added.

Despite the failure to secure an NFL stadium that would be the centerpiece of a potential $5 billion mixed-use project, the 326-acre former racetrack site remains “one of the largest and most important redevelopment opportunities” in Illinois, and the village will work with the Bears or others to redevelop it, according to Monday’s statement.

Leaders of Touchdown Arlington, a group of businesses and community members advocating for a stadium in Arlington Heights, still hope to see the Bears make the Northwest suburbs home.

“As someone who follows development closely, I’ve learned never to confuse delay with cancellation,” said Holly Connors, a local real estate broker and member of Touchdown Arlington’s steering committee.

Connors believes there’s still a realistic opportunity that a stadium deal can be reached. But many see this as another example of how challenging it is to do business in Illinois, she added.

“We’ve had an incredible amount of support from community members, and even from some politicians,” Connors said. “But not all of the politicians have been in alignment, and that’s where Illinois has failed its residents.”

Even after hours of intense negotiations over the weekend, the General Assembly was unable to pass a bill that would provide the Bears with the tax breaks the team wants to build a domed stadium at the old racetrack site.

The state House in April passed so-called megaproject legislation that would have allowed the Bears to negotiate property tax payments with schools and other local governments for up to 40 years.

But the plan failed to win enough support in the Senate, which instead passed a measure of its own early Monday that would allow Arlington Heights — or Chicago — to create a public stadium authority that would own and govern the facility, making it tax-free.

However, the House declined to vote on that proposal before lawmakers adjourned their spring session shortly before 5 a.m. Monday.

That leaves the Bears choosing between a public stadium authority deal to build a new home in Hammond, Indiana, or waiting to see if the General Assembly calls a special session to act on legislation that could keep the team in Illinois.

Tinaglia said Monday he doesn’t yet know enough about the stadium authority plan to declare whether Arlington Heights would be interested in owning an NFL stadium, even if in name only.

“I would have been willing to read and listen and pay attention and see if there was something that could work with that, but nobody's even getting the chance to do that, because it's out the window,” he said.

“I spoke with (Bears CEO and President) Kevin (Warren) over the weekend, I spoke with Kevin this morning,” Tinaglia added. “I have a very solid relationship with the Bears organization, and I know that they are more disappointed than we are here. Everybody was working hard to try to get this completed.”