Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – For all the victories Gov. JB Pritzker (pictured, center) claimed from the just-concluded legislative session, the main subject on reporters’ minds Monday morning was lawmakers’ failure to put together a deal for a new stadium for the Chicago Bears.
Pritzker wanted to talk about a back-to-school sales tax holiday, home and auto insurance controls, the prohibition of junk fees, and much more. Those subjects, though, gained little traction in the post mortem with reporters and lawmakers in his ceremonial office at the Capitol.
In short, the measure allowing certain Cook County municipalities to form a “stadium authority” did not have enough support, according to House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (pictured, second from right) (D-Hillside). The stadium authority bill came together – and passed the Senate – about a month after the House passed a “megaprojects” bill which covered the entire state and would allow a large company (say, the Bears) building a large facility (say, a new stadium) to negotiate property taxes with local government (say, the village of Arlington Heights). The Senate never considered that bill, leading to the much smaller bill it passed in the session’s final hours.
The football team has said its location options for a new stadium are Arlington Heights and Hammond, Ind.
“We’re in the midst of an affordability crisis created by, I believe, the worst president in American history,” said Welch. “The things that people are focused on are the things they’re talking about at their kitchen table. How do they pay their electric bill? How do they pay their grocery bill? The conversations that I’m hearing from caucus members are people, people, people.”
The $56 billion budget is $1 billion larger than that of the current fiscal year, which expires June 30.
“This budged was built in a moment of extraordinary uncertainty,” said Senate President Don Harmon (pictured, second from left) (D-Oak Park). “More than 100,000 people are losing food assistance because of decisions coming out of Washington. Hospitals serving some of the most vulnerable communities in Illinois are questioning how long they can keep their doors open.”
“My principal focus is on the taxpayers of Illinois,” said the governor, “making sure we were not doing something like paying for a stadium, a privately owned stadium. for a billionaire-owned team. That didn’t make any sense to me, and I said from the very beginning we are not going to do that.”
Work on the Bears issue and other unfinished business is to continue through the summer, though apparently not via a special session.
