Bears-backed megaproject bill advances out of Illinois House committee; Indiana bill heads to governor

An Illinois House committee Thursday advanced legislation that could give the Bears a big property tax break and clear the way to a new stadium in Arlington Heights, despite questions over the bill’s prospects in the legislature as a whole.

Hours later, competing legislation to lure the Bears across state lines passed the Indiana Senate and is now on its way to Gov. Mike Braun’s desk.

The 13-7 vote along party lines in the Democratic-led Illinois House Revenue and Finance Committee sent the Bears-backed megaproject legislation to the full House. But amid questions and concerns from both sides of the aisle during nearly two hours of committee discussion Thursday morning, the House later adjourned without the bill coming to the chamber floor for a vote.

Springfield lawmakers were staring down a deadline to move legislation that could keep the Bears in the Land of Lincoln amid competing legislation in Indiana that could lure the team to a new stadium in Hammond.

In a concurrence vote Thursday afternoon, the Indiana Senate voted 45-4 for legislation that would create a public stadium authority in Northwest Indiana to acquire land, issue bonds, build a stadium, and lease it to the Bears for at least 35 years. The bill sailed through the House on 95-4 vote Tuesday after an earlier version of the legislation passed the Senate 46-2 on Jan. 28.

Lawmakers in Indianapolis adjourn Friday and plan to send their bill to Gov. Mike Braun by then. Meanwhile, members of the Illinois House leave Springfield Thursday and won’t return until March 18, though their counterparts in the Senate remain in session.

The committee vote in Springfield came just after noon Thursday at the end of lengthy hearing on the megaproject bill. Versions of the legislation have stalled at the state Capitol for some four years, and the bill that came forward for debate is a combination of those proposals, said Rep. Kam Buckner, the bill sponsor.

The Chicago Democrat, who has been involved in closed-door stadium talks with Bears brass, Arlington Heights officials and Gov. JB Pritzker’s staff, formally filed an amendment to a shell bill Wednesday night — a legislative maneuver that could allow the legislation to advance quicker.

The measure would allow the Bears or any developer spending at least $500 million on a project statewide to negotiate tax payments directly with affected local governments. The latest proposal would expand the tax treatment to developers who invest $250 million and agree to hire 50 new full-time employees, or spend $100 million and hire 100 people.

The so-called Payments in Lieu of Taxes financing mechanism detailed in the bill would effectively give the NFL franchise a property tax break at its 326-acre property in Arlington Heights for up to 40 years by allowing the team to negotiate payment amounts directly with local taxing bodies including Palatine Township Elementary District 15, Northwest Suburban High School District 214, and Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211.

Another new item in Buckner’s bill: the tax break couldn’t apply to residential property, amid questions of whether the Bears could get such a deal for their entire proposed $5 billion entertainment and mixed-use district, or just the $2 billion domed stadium.