New Bears bill introduced for Arlington Heights
(The Center Square) – A state representative has filed new legislation aimed at keeping the Chicago Bears in Illinois, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker says the Bears have to decide what they want first.
State Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills, filed the Taxpayer and Investment Protection Act on Monday.
House Bill 5797 applies to private developments with more than $2.5 billion of investments located in counties with more than one million people.
The proposal calls for the state to spend $1.2 billion on infrastructure for a Bears-owned stadium and surrounding development.
McLaughlin said the bill includes a negotiated property tax up front, based on the Bears’ $200 million land purchase in Arlington Heights.
“What that would be going forward, whether it’s three or four or $500 million, they set a 2.5% tax rate, and that goes up each and every year for 30 years,” McLaughlin told The Center Square.
McLaughlin said a third-party auditor would review the Bears, the state and local taxing bodies to prevent cost shifting.
“They’ll be called out on an annual basis, and that’s where the protection is. There’s an audit that’ll be done each and every year, so it’s a straight business deal. There’s no gimmicks,” McLaughlin said.
When asked by The Center Square on Tuesday about McLaughlin’s proposal, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the Bears need to express what they want in two bills that already passed separately in the House and the Senate.
“So just randomly putting a bill in that might be your idea or Representative McLaughlin’s idea doesn’t necessarily solve the problem of what the Bears may want,” Pritzker said at a budget-signing event in Chicago.
McLaughlin said he wanted to move a bill forward because the idea that Chicago is still in play is now over, but Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said on Tuesday his city is not off the table.
State Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, is also expected to file Bears stadium-related legislation this week.
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, said it’s important to find out if all involved stakeholders can agree on a bill before considering a special session of the legislature.
“I think Illinois is still the place the Bears want to be,” Welch said.
Partly Sunny
Latest News Stories
Highland Liquors Cleared for Video Gaming Expansion Following Zoning Approval
Lincoln-Way West Offense Roars in 12-0 Shutout Over Lincoln-Way Central
Meeting Summary and Briefs: Manhattan School District 114 Board of Education for April 29, 2026
Canadian border crimes: Multi-million grandparent, crypto scam; human smuggling
Access Will County Dial-A-Ride Reports Massive Growth After Consolidating Paratransit Services
Trade, Taiwan top priorities for Trump, Xi as two leaders wrap first meeting
Critics question unions after $1B in political spending
Trade court to rule on tariff stay by next week
Johnson defends Trump ballroom as ‘a donation to the country’
Vance cuts $1.3 billion in California Medicaid, pauses hospice care
Groups urge House leaders to reject E15 expansion, calling it a hidden tax
Lincoln-Way West Edges Bradley-Bourbonnais in 5-4 Conference Thriller
