Sunday is shaping up to be one of the most impactful days in Chicago Bears history, and the team isn’t even playing that day.
The team’s situation remains decidedly unclear as the Illinois Legislature enters the final day of its spring session on Sunday, and lawmakers are scrambling to approve a bill that will help keep the NFL team in the state.
As has been the case since late April, the Illinois Senate has been unable to find sufficient support to pass their version of a “megaprojects” bill that would give the Bears property tax certainty in suburban Arlington Heights, Ill., to help build a $5 billion domed stadium and mixed-use development there. That lack of political consensus only grew worse when Cook County treasurer Maria Pappas released a report last week suggesting that the Bears would receive $1.5 billion in tax breaks over 40 years from that bill.
Nearly round-the-clock deliberations on Friday and Saturday among state leaders did not produce material progress, and the latest talks are instead centering on a more slimmed-down bill seeking to give the Bears the tax certainty the team seeks. That clarity is necessary for Bears ownership to gain loans and provide the private financing that will fund the vast bulk of the project.
