‘We have to win’: Northwest suburban officials hope to sack Indiana’s pursuit of Bears stadium

Northwest suburban leaders played both offense and defense in their public pitch Wednesday to land a new Bears stadium in Illinois instead of Indiana.

Politicians, business owners, and chamber of commerce and tourism agency bosses came to the DoubleTree by Hilton Arlington Heights ballroom Wednesday night to mobilize support for a Springfield bill that would give the NFL franchise a massive property tax break — a play that would clear the way for a stadium and mixed-use district at the vacant Arlington Park property.

But they also leveled new talking points in an attempt to block and tackle legislation making its way through Indiana’s General Assembly.

“We are here today because Indiana is rolling out the red carpet for tens of thousands of jobs that belong in Illinois. … Indiana showed up ready to deal while our region has been asleep at the wheel,” Rolling Meadows Mayor Lara Sanoica said at the event co-hosted by the pro-Bears business coalition Touchdown Arlington and Meet Chicago Northwest convention and visitors bureau.

The pep rally came as more cities — and states — entered the Bears stadium derby. Portage, Indiana officials held a press conference hours earlier to tout plans for a “Halas Harbor” stadium site. Gary has also proposed three sites, though it’s believed the Bears’ strongest interest is in land near Wolf Lake in Hammond.

On Tuesday, Iowa legislators filed a bill to expand an economic development program that would incentivize construction of an NFL stadium.

The Indiana bill that passed the Senate on Jan. 28 and is now pending before the House would create the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority, which would acquire land and issue bonds to pay for a new publicly owned stadium to be leased to the Bears for at least 35 years.

As currently written, the legislation would prohibit union-friendly project labor agreements for the stadium construction. While in a Senate committee, legislators stripped the bill of participation goals for minority- and women-owned businesses.

The so-called megaproject legislation that’s stalled in Springfield for the last three years would require a project labor agreement and set a goal of awarding 20% of contracts to minority-owned businesses.

Sanoica and other speakers on Wednesday played to the crowd, which included blue collar workers in the Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council. She argued that passing the megaproject bill would mean construction jobs for local firms like Bear Construction Co., which is in the shadow of old racetrack property and employs 75 union carpenters.

“Indiana, on the other hand, put it right in their stadium bill — they don’t care. Their sales pitch is that you can build a world-class stadium by shortchanging the workers who build it,” said Sanoica, whose town borders the 326-acre former racetrack site. “We have to compete — we have to win — when once-in-a generation opportunities come to our doorstep.”

Other officials noted the clocking is ticking for Illinois legislators to act; though Springfield is in session until May 31, Indiana lawmakers are set to adjourn at the end of this month.

“This can’t happen,” Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tinaglia said of the Bears going to Indiana. “I am confident that Springfield is wide awake right now. They heard all of us.”

The dormant megaproject bill — which would allow the Bears to negotiate directly with local taxing bodies such as schools over the amount of taxes that should be paid for up to 40 years — was taken out of the House Rules Committee on Wednesday and assigned to the Revenue and Finance Committee.

Rep. Mary Beth Canty, the bill sponsor, said there is “real progress” toward a Bears stadium redevelopment in Illinois, though it’s been three years since the organization purchased the shuttered horse racing venue in her 54th District.

“The process takes so long because we are going to make sure that we do right by the taxpayers, workers, families and businesses in Illinois,” the Arlington Heights Democrat said.

Negotiations have been intensifying behind closed doors among Gov. JB Pritzker and his staff, top legislators and Bears brass since team President/CEO Kevin Warren in mid-December decried a lack of “legislative partnership” in Springfield and announced the expansion of the team’s stadium search to Northwest Indiana.

Pritzker on Monday said “progress” has been made in those talks, and didn’t think the team’s interest in Indiana was a “bluff.”

“We’re in consistent conversation with the Chicago Bears — have been, by the way, for, I don’t know, a year and a half or two years,” he told reporters in downstate Belleville. “And specifically, I think there’s a real possibility that many of the things that we put on the table to work with the Bears on are things that they’re willing to do to stay in the state of Illinois.”

Pritzker has been supportive of the NFL club’s ask for close to $1 billion worth of infrastructure upgrades around Arlington Park, though remains undeclared on the megaproject bill the team argues is necessary for tax “certainty” to get financing for construction of the $2 billion privately owned domed stadium.

Still unresolved in the backroom discussions is what becomes of the $500 million debt still owed for the 2003 renovations of Soldier Field held by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.