Illinois House unveils new version of Bears’ megaprojects bill

SPRINGFIELD — Facing the specter of losing the Chicago Bears to Indiana, the Illinois House unveiled a new version of property tax legislation that the team says is a prerequisite for building a new domed stadium in suburban Arlington Heights.

But whether the new proposal advances the effort remains to be seen, as amended bill language discussed in the House still hasn’t received a thorough review from the Senate or governor’s office.

House Democrats, meanwhile, discussed the latest bill language at length behind closed doors Tuesday, with top negotiators presenting a plan to the supermajority caucus far more expansive in scope than the one that passed out of a House committee in late February.

“There were a lot of folks satisfied with some of the changes that we made, some things that we got tightened up,” said state Rep Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, the lead House negotiator on the megaprojects bill. “But I think all in all, it was a very positive caucus.”

Buckner said he plans to file the amendment language with the intention of it being heard in committee on Wednesday. If it passes there, the full House could vote on the measure this week. But importantly, it still must be approved by the Illinois Senate, which returns to Springfield on April 28. And the changes still need the blessing of Gov. JB Pritzker.

Pritzker’s office said in a statement that they’re “currently reviewing the draft amendment” and don’t have further comment at this time.

“I got some marching orders from my caucus to put together an amendment that looked more like what was important to us,” Buckner said. “I’ve been in lockstep with both Deputy Gov. (Andy) Manar and with (Sen. Bill) Cunningham on this, and so obviously they have not had a chance to caucus on this yet. They will when they get back, but I think our job right now is to try to move this forward, and if there are more conversations that need to be had, of course, we’ll have those.”

Changes to original bill

The latest changes are aimed at winning over skeptical rank-and-file lawmakers, whose concerns include the potential shift of property tax burden to surrounding residents and the long-term impact on revenues to local communities. And Chicago lawmakers have been wary of approving a measure incentivizing the team’s departure from Solider Field, on which taxpayers still owe nearly $500 million in bonds for early 2000s renovations.

Key to both the original measure and the latest amendment is a provision that allows the Bears or other “megaproject” developers to negotiate a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, with local taxing bodies.

Under the revised language, 50% of the receipts from the PILOT would go towards property tax relief. Of that, 60% would go to property tax rebates for residential homeowners in taxing districts with a megaproject and 40% would be deposited into the state’s existing property tax relief fund.

“So, the thought process behind that is that if we’re going to give some property tax certainty and relief to the developers, then we need to be able to do the same thing for the folks who pay property taxes, homeowners,” Buckner said.

As Capitol News Illinois reported last week, the new bill strikes language that would count megaprojects at full market value while calculating local government borrowing limits and property tax cap formulas. Some worried that provision would have shifted the tax burden onto surrounding residential and commercial property owners.

There’s also a new provision that explicitly prohibits use of the PILOT tool for data centers, which have been identified as a driver of rising energy costs and demand.

The bill also ends the megaproject incentive after five years, a so-called “sunset” provision that allows lawmakers to revisit the effectiveness of the tool. Municipalities with PILOT agreements in place would also have to provide impact reports to the Illinois General Assembly every five years.

Other incentives, response

The legislation would also expand the tiers of projects aiming to redevelop rail yards. Potential projects that could be eligible for this incentive include the One Central development near Solider Field and Amtrak’s 14^th Street rail yard in Chicago, which is being eyed by billionaire Justin Ishbia for a redevelopment that could include a future White Sox ballpark.

Another provision would provide a mechanism to help finance the expansion of Springfield’s downtown convention center and an adjacent hotel.

Some of the measures are meant to win over enough votes among supermajority House Democrats — House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, has an unofficial rule that bills need at least 60 Democrats to be called for a vote on the floor.

State Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, said the latest version is a step in the right direction.

“I thought Leader Buckner presented a forthcoming amendment that addresses a lot of the concerns that I and others brought up the last time this was around,” Guzzardi said. “I thought the concerns were addressed in a really thoughtful way.”

The megaprojects bill languished on the backburner in Springfield until earlier this year, when Indiana lawmakers approved a package aimed at luring the Bears over the state line to a site in Hammond.

Pritzker has pushed the megaprojects concept as a mechanism for not only keeping the Bears, but attracting other economic development to the state.

It comes more than three years after the Bears purchased the 326-acre site that formerly housed Arlington Park racetrack. The team set its sights on leaving Soldier Field and building a new stadium and surrounding retail and entertainment district at the massive suburban site. But team officials said it could only be done with assistance from lawmakers in Springfield.

Ben Szalinski contributed to this report.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.