Poll: Arlington Heights voters want Bears stadium – as long as they’re not paying for it

An overwhelming majority of Arlington Heights voters want the Chicago Bears to build a new stadium at Arlington Park, but more than two-thirds of them don’t want taxpayer money to help pay for it, according to the findings of a new poll.

Commissioned by the conservative political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity Illinois, the poll found that 72% of voters would approve of a stadium on the 326-acre former racetrack property.

But when asked whether they would support the village of Arlington Heights offering taxpayer dollars to make it happen, 68% said they would not.

ARW Strategies questioned 300 voters for the poll, which has a margin of error of about plus or minus 5.6%.

Americans for Prosperity Illinois is the same group that is gathering signatures to petition the Arlington Heights village board to pass an anti-corporate welfare ordinance that would ban any public money going to a Bears stadium or any other “corporate welfare.”

The poll found that 55% of voters support that proposal, with 30% opposing it and 15% unsure. And 74%, regardless of their opinion on the proposal, think voters should decide it.

“[Arlington Heights] Mayor [Tom] Hayes called AFP-IL’s Anti-Corporate Welfare Ordinance ‘extreme,’ but we don’t think a majority of Arlington Heights residents are extremists for wanting to end corporate welfare programs,” Brian Costin, the organization’s deputy state director, said in a statement Tuesday. “This polling shows Mayor Hayes’ views on corporate welfare are out of touch with large majorities of Arlington Heights voters.”

Hayes has said he would consider use of taxpayer dollars only as a “last resort.”

Costin said AFP-IL also supports a Bears move to the suburbs, but only if it doesn’t include a handout from taxpayers.

“Arlington Heights residents strongly agree and through this poll are sending a message to the village to end the continued flirtation with corporate welfare programs,” he added.

The poll also asked Arlington Heights voters a series of questions about economic strategies in the village and the impact of a potential NFL stadium in town.

Respondents were split on traffic impacts from the proposal, with 47.8% saying they are concerned about it and 47.5% saying they are not.

Asked about the potential impact on public services like police and fire, 37% said they are concerned and 55% said they are not.

Regarding the use of tax increment financing districts to attract developers, 54% of voters believe the village should eliminate TIF districts, while 29% want them to remain and 17% are unsure. TIF districts work by freezing property tax distributions to local governments like schools and park districts at their current levels for a defined period of time, usually 23 years. Any increase in tax revenue created by new development during that time is funneled to a village-controlled fund to pay for improvements within the district.

The Bears have been exploring the potential for a new state-of-the-art stadium on the Arlington Park property since last fall, when the team announced it had reached a tentative $197.2 million deal to buy the site from owner Churchill Downs. While awaiting a closing on the sale – expected early next year – the Bears have hired architects, land planners and other consultants to draw up plans for the site while, thus far, rebuffing overtures from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot aimed at keeping the team at Soldier Field.

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20220823/poll-arlington-heights-voters-want-bears-stadium-x2014-as-long-as-theyre-not-paying-for-it