Bears' Stadium Bill Passes Illinois House, Senate Next

0:00It's April 23rd. NFL news today starts now. AI-powered and game ready. I'm Cory with the story. Illinois House just greenlit the mega-projects bill, packing in that Chicago Bears stadium deal for Arlington Heights. Now it hits to the Senate, but no slam dunk on construction happening there. Key issue. Late tweaks jacked up the Bears' property tax bill, way higher than they bargained for in Springfield talks. Bears dropped a statement calling your progress on the house version, but stressing more fixes needed to make the site work financially. They wanted tax certainty, not a bigger burden. If Senate doesn't align, team could bounce to Indiana's sweeter offer and ditch the whole Illinois plan. Fans and polls are buzzing with mixed vibes. One rep slammed it as a dangerous property tax hike and voted no. Wad is part. A clause blocking officials from snagging free or discounted tickets to the new stadium unless it's a public promo. Yeah, good luck enforcing that on. The folks who built it. Ticket prices already stung fans hard. Up 13% this year and 24% over recent years.

1:09New digs mean even steeper costs for regular folks, while politicians likely wink their way to perks through backchannels. Bears press Kevin Warren, even rang a state rep post, vote to chat it out. All eyes on Senate leaders, Governor Pritzker, and the Bears as they hash amendments before May's deadline. Could drag like the white sock stadium saga, but this one's got real stakes. Arlington or bust for Chicago's gridiron dreams.