Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – It’s not exactly dogs and cats – or, more fittingly, Bears and Packers – living together, but the bill which would help the Chicago Bears move to Arlington Heights saw some Republicans vote Yes and some Democrats vote No. The Illinois House Wednesday night voted 78-32 in favor of the so-called “mega project” bill, which would allow developers of large-scale projects — for example, the Bears — to negotiate property taxes with communities — for example, the village of Arlington Heights.
State Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) was one of the Republican supporters, reasoning that rejecting the bill would lead to billions of dollars moving out of the state. The football team has been considering a package of goodies from Indiana but already owns the land where Arlington International Racecourse used to stand.
“Very often in this building,” said the bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), “the perfect can be the enemy of the good. Sometimes, doing nothing because you can’t do everything is indeed the problem.”
Buckner characterized the bill as not simply a “Bears bill” but, rather, as a statewide package of economic development tools. For example, a new tourism district and re-imagined medical district for downtown Springfield are included.
Before the night was out, the Bears issued a statement:
“We welcome the progress made on the House’s version of the mega project bill; however, additional amendments are necessary to make the Arlington Heights site feasible for our stadium project. We support Illinois leaders as they determine the path forward to making the essential changes to the mega project bill and aligning on infrastructure funding.”
The Senate could take up the bill next week.
