Illinois House Democrats Push Bears Stadium Plan

0:00On April 21st, House Democrats in Illinois huddled for hours behind closed doors on Wednesday to push a plan that could land the Chicago Bears anew. Stadium in Arlington Heights, the key piece is something called payment in lieu of taxes or pilot, letting the team make special payments to local taxing bodies instead of full. Property taxes for at least 20 years. The bill cleared a House committee back in February, but hit a wall without enough democratic support. Now they're tweaking it to address worries, like nearby suburbs potentially losing hundreds of millions in revenue and the burden shifting to every day, taxpayers. Folks are split on this. The Illinois Federation of Teachers is sounding alarms about higher taxes for regular people and Chicago area lawmakers mostly want the bears to stay, put in the city, not bolt to the suburbs. One rep even said they'd rather see the team work out a deal with the governor and mayor that helps workers and unions. State rep Cam Buckner, who's leading the charge, says they're super close to a final version that could hit the full House floor this week.

1:05He's chatting daily with the bears, and the governor's office House and Senate are all on the same page. Meanwhile, Indiana's already greenlit a stadium in Hammond to lure them across the border. Republicans are open to backing in if it includes real property tax relief for everyone, not just big projects, like limiting referendums to November. Ballots. With negotiations heating up, this bears drama could wrap soon and keep the team in Illinois. NFL News Today. Powered by AI bringing you what matters on game day.