Would tax break for the Bears mean tax hike for homeowners?

Legislation that would give the Bears a massive property tax break must mean that everyone surrounding their sprawling Arlington Heights property will have to make up the difference, right?

Not so, says the bill’s sponsor and others working to make the team’s suburban relocation a reality.

Concerns over a property tax shift onto local homeowners have swirled since the Payments in Lieu of Taxes financing mechanism was introduced three years ago, and resurfaced again this month in a former state representative’s white paper analysis of the Bears’ stalled stadium search.

Illinois Sen. Mark Walker, an Arlington Heights Democrat who is sponsoring the so-called megaproject legislation, said its key provision is formation of a review board of local taxing bodies — including school districts — that would negotiate directly with the Bears and approve the amount the team pays each year, for up to 40 years.

“The school districts get significant amount of power here to set what that rate is, and we’ve all agreed that they will negotiate fairly. And it’s only a win for them. It’s only significantly more money than they would get if there were no project.

“If designed properly because it’s driven by the taxing bodies, (residents’) taxes will go down,” Walker added. “That’s the goal.”

Local governments whose boundaries fall within the 326-acre former Arlington Park racetrack now get $3.6 million a year from the Bears, under a memorandum of understanding brokered by village officials a year ago. But in their recent appeal to state lawmakers, the Bears and local leaders together have complained that — short of state intervention — the property at full assessment would be subject to an annual tax bill of $100 million to $200 million.

Officials have declined to say exactly how much the yearly tax payment should be.

Elizabeth Bauer, an Arlington Heights Republican running against 53rd District Democratic state Rep. Nicolle Grasse — the bill’s sponsor in the House — said comparisons to the old racetrack’s tax bill suggest the payment could be very low indeed.

Bauer worries the village would rely on promises of revenue from other sources to make up the difference and cover all the costs associated with the development — everything from police and fire protection to infrastructure maintenance.

“What it all comes down to is that the Bears are asking for special treatment and claiming that their status as a very large business should protect them from future risks,” Bauer said.

“The ordinary residents and small- and medium-sized businesses of Arlington Heights and the school districts will, if the PILOT bill goes through, bear the uncertainty of future risks,” she added. “The more the Bears are protected, the more risk the rest of us face.”

Arlington Heights Village Manager Randy Recklaus envisions a process where all of the parties sit down to “come up with a number that’s fair for everybody.”

“We want it to be a privately owned stadium that pays taxes, pays their fair share, pays for all the services that they demand. And we want to make sure that the right people are in the room — the school districts, the village, all the local governments — to negotiate that,” Recklaus said. “What that number’s going to be is going to depend on what we calculate our needs to be based on the exact components of that project.”

Palatine Township Elementary District 15 Superintendent Laurie Heinz — whose school district gets the largest chunk of property taxes from the old racecourse — said the legislation and memorandum give schools a “seat at the table.”

Namely, the memo contains a per-pupil expenditure formula to cover schools’ additional operating costs for any students who may reside in new homes on the site. There’s also a guarantee for capital funds should more classrooms, building additions or even a new school be needed.

“We are not trying to scoop up as much money as we can. That’s not what this is about,” Heinz said. “We have a voice in how it’s going to be developed to make sure our interests and more importantly the interests of our students and families are going to be protected.”