Seismic legislation that could determine the Chicago Bears’ future in Illinois officially arrived in the Illinois Senate on Tuesday, but the big finish is days off.
After a dramatic House vote in favor last week, Senators handled the controversial megaproject measure as a routine matter. House Bill 910 was given a first reading, then parked in the Assignments Committee, where it will stay for a while, said Assistant Majority Leader Laura Murphy, a Des Plaines Democrat.
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Intense discussions are next. Gov. JB Pritzker, Bears leaders and a number of lawmakers have all indicated the House version needs tweaking.
The north star “is what’s good for the taxpayers,” Pritzker said Tuesday at an unrelated event in Springfield. “Second is, we want the Bears to stay in Illinois.”
“There’s lots of work to be done,” said Murphy, a member of the Assignments Committee. “We’re going to take our time and analyze everything that’s in the bill. We have one chance to get this right.”
The legislation has statewide economic development ramifications. Close to home, it offers property tax relief for the Bears to support a new stadium and additional redevelopment on the 326-acre former Arlington Park property in Arlington Heights.
The measure also aims to counter Indiana’s efforts to lure the NFL franchise to Hammond with an economic incentive package of its own.
“We’re going to review what the House passed, gather input from senators and stakeholders and assess the path forward,” said John Patterson, spokesman for the Senate Democrats.
“There’s plenty of time built into the process for that.”
The bill would allow the Bears or other megaproject developers to negotiate a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, directly with local taxing bodies such as schools.
Half of the payments would be steered toward property tax rebates for people living in the megaproject area, as well as statewide property tax relief.
The megaproject legislation has been around for three years, but only passed the House last week. It is more than 370 pages and has some surprises, said Murphy.
Those include the property tax split and allowing blighted rail yards to be considered megaprojects. “There’s a lot of new parts,” that need to be vetted, she added.
Another sticking point is a provision for a 9% amusement tax that the Bears oppose.
“We’ll have to see if the Senate is able to make the changes that are necessary while keeping some of the things that the House wanted to have in that bill, in addition,” Pritzker said.
Indiana joined the stadium stakes in late 2025, offering the iconic Chicago team up to $1 billion in public financing to move to a site near Wolf Lake.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260428/illinois-state-politics/bears-megaproject-bill-takes-baby-steps-in-senate-but-lots-of-work-to-be-done/