Springfield, Ill. (KWQC) - The Chicago Bears have made headlines across the Midwest as they’ve considered a move from their longtime home of Soldier Field.
The Bears have considered a new stadium in Chicago, Arlington Heights and Northwest Indiana in the last 18 months.
In February, Iowa lawmakers threw their hat in the ring by considering a “professional sports franchise” - a project that would be eligible for certain incentives.
With more suitors looking to roll out the red carpet for one of the NFL’s premier franchises, Illinois lawmakers have filed their [response](https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus/FullText?GAID=18&DocNum=2789&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=0&SessionID=114) that could offer the Bears the guarantee they need to keep their home in The Land of Lincoln.
### Property Tax Battle
While the Bears have pledged to invest two billion dollars into their new stadium, the bigger battle has been over their property tax bill.
Even with no stadium guaranteed at the Arlington Heights site, the Bears have already battled with local and county officials over how much the property is worth.
The Bears bought the land in Arlington Heights for more than $197 million, but argued it was worth less after demolition of structures at the site all for the sake of a lower tax bill.
Ultimately, the Bears and taxing bodies across Arlington Heights agreed to a $3.6 million dollar tax bill, but the prolonged back and forth sets the stage for what the Bears want before they commit to their new stadium.
### “Assessment Freeze”
In December, Bears President Kevin Warren wrote a [public letter](https://www.chicagobears.com/news/an-open-letter-from-president-ceo-kevin-warren-regarding-the-chicago-bears-stadium-project) saying the franchise would expand its search for a new stadium site after lawmakers said it wasn’t a priority for 2026.
> We have not asked for state taxpayer dollars to build the stadium at Arlington Park. We asked only for a commitment to essential local infrastructure (roads, utilities, and site improvements) which is more than typical for projects of this size. Additionally, we sought reasonable property tax certainty to secure financing. We listened to state leadership and relied on their direction and guidance, yet our efforts have been met with no legislative partnership.
Fast forward less than two months, and a bill has been brought forward in the general assembly that would tackle one of the key issues, property taxes.
The bill’s text essentially outlines what a “mega project” has to take in order to get a property tax bill set in stone. The Bears will already pay $3.6 million for the Arlington Heights site when it’s worth less than $200 million. The team doesn’t want to build a stadium to make the site worth two billion dollars (ten times the value of the property) and fork over $36 million (ten times their current tax bill) every year.
The Bears would easily meet some of the property freeze requirements like having a project worth more the $500,000,000. Some other terms would require 20% of the project bids to go through minority-owned businesses. The agreement would have to run at least 20 years but could not last longer than 40 years.
### Property tax certainty, at a cost
While the bill would give the Bears a key piece they were asking for, it leaves a lot of work on the table between the team and the city they choose to call home.
The bill mentions a “special payment” that the team would be responsible for on top of the property tax bill. The payment would go to the city and other taxing bodies like school district and park district.
A large part of the bill leans on whatever deal the city and Bears make which is still up in the air. The two sides would have to figure out economic incentives along with infrastructure plans to get tens of thousands of people in and out of a city that normally doesn’t see that kind of traffic.
### Can it pass?
KWQC has reached out to our local representatives for comment. House Minority Leader Tony McCombie told KWQC she is still waiting for the final form of the bill to take shape before she takes a stance but has concerns of the burden that could be placed on taxpayers. Senator Niel Anderson said he is reviewing the bill but did not have a comment at this time. Rep. Gregg Johnson and Sen. Mike Halpin did not return requests for comment.
The big hurdle to clear will be Governor JB Pritzker’s endorsement. He’s been hesitant to support any form of Bears stadium project that negatively impacts taxpayers. He has yet to weigh in on HB 5556 or HB 2789 which both tackle incentives and property tax freezes. Though the Bears have pledged a sizeable amount of money for the stadium itself, but there hasn’t been a plan in place for who would pay for the infrastructure to support a new NFL stadium.
Democratic leadership require a large consensus of lawmakers to even bring a bill to the floor.
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