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When Illinois Can Expect a New Stadium Vote Can't Please Bears Fans

State legislator opens up on the possibility of a special session to approve a Bears stadium plan for the Arlington Heights property.
Gene Chamberlain|
Environmental testing continues for the Bears at the Indiana site but Illinois seems in no hurry to take advantage of this delay.
Environmental testing continues for the Bears at the Indiana site but Illinois seems in no hurry to take advantage of this delay. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears

Another Bears stadium bill vote depends on a special legislative session this summer, yet there has barely been a peep about one being held.

All of the back-room negotiating, positioning, and bill tweaking supposedly going on at this point of summer probably doesn't amount to much in the opinion of one state representative who developed a plan to keep the team in Illinois. In fact, he thinks it might not even be this calendar year when they consider it.

What this means when Indiana has already forged ahead with plans the way it has is unclear, but it can't be good for Illinois' hopes.

State representative Martin McLaughlin of the 52nd District is the author of a bill that offers a stadium plan for putting the Bears at their own Arlington Heights property. During an interview on AM-560's Morning Answer he revealed that he sees no vote on the plan coming until the "lame duck," session of the legislature.

This could mean a vote as the Bears' regular season is ending in early January.

"I would imagine that it would take until lame duck for this to pass," McLaughlin said. "That's what I would imagine because I don't think there's enough back-room chatter going on right now about the Bears to get it done in a special session.

"So that takes us to veto (session). Veto, everyone will be worried about elections. So I think something will happen in lame duck session (after veto session). That's my prediction."

The next legislative session isn't set to begin until November. This is an incredibly long time for the Bears to wait, considering where Indiana has progressed with its plan.

Speculation had been that a special session could be called in mid-August because many state legislators will be at the state fair in Springfield then. However, if the "chatter" about solving this situation isn't apparent, then there will be no one calling for a special session.

Gov. J. B. Pritkzer had already said the Bears need to make all of their needs known and the support must be clear for a bill before there would even be a special session.

Reports about Indiana experiencing pushback on its tax plan a Bears stadium seems to have been greatly exaggerated, especially by a Chicago Tribune story building up the impact of Porter County tax dissidents. Basically, Porter County counts for very little in their tax plan, and if it didn't participate in this project then Indiana Gov. Mike Braun made clear what it means.

“If they choose not to put any skin in the game, they’re not going to have any say-so for what happens from all the economic benefits we’re going to get from it,” Braun said.

In other words, it's no sweat.

But it means Illinois can do the sweating because more time without passing a plan of their own at a special session makes it more likely the Bears will simply start digging in Indiana near Hammond.

McLaughlin's plan calls for $2.5 billion from the Bears for the stadium, and a 30-year "freeze" on taxes for the Bears on the property. This actually means about a 2.5% increase on the taxes and not entirely frozen.

McLaughlin says the Cubs pay about $9 million annually in taxes and most stadiums are $8 million to $12 million. His plan also pays $1.2 billion from the state for infrastructure, an amount necessary. The idea is for this to come out over two or three years from the state transportation fund. It's not abnormal for business construction projects to have infrastructure paid for in this manner.

The reason McLaughlin's plan is targeting Arlington Heights and the Bears' property rather than Chicago is simple..

"Here's the problem: They weren't going to be able to own all the property around Soldier Field and they can do that in Arlington Heights," McLaughlin said. "So it's not just about the stadium. It's about all the regional development that'll go around that stadium and that's a game-changer for the McCaskey family and frankly it's a game-changer for the region economically.


"And that's why I want the Bears to be in Arlington Heights and Illinois, is not just for the stadium and everything that brings but for all the other economic development in the region."

That regional development could very well be in Indiana if the state waits on the vote until the lame duck session. Speaking on CHGO on Thursday, Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said he is about 80% certain it's coming to his commuity.

"Sometimes I'm at 85%," he said.

The Bears had to undertake an entirely new round of environmental testing because of their change in location for the project to Wolf Lake Terminal, and it has led to some delay.

For Illinois, it's a delay that could let McLaughlin's plan come to a vote with a special session, but right now this seems unlikely. McLaughlin's plan would need to get approval from some Chicago legislators and at the moment this bitter group seems more in tune with giving away the stadium to Indiana than keeping it for the northwest suburbs.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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