Arlington Heights Mayor to Springfield Pass Bears Stadium

With Indiana openly courting the Chicago Bears and Illinois lawmakers debating a key stadium request, the mayor of Arlington Heights is escalating the rhetoric.

Mayor Jim Tinaglia issued an open letter Friday urging state legislators to immediately pass a “common-sense” megaproject bill that would clear the way for a now $5 billion, stadium-anchored redevelopment at the former Arlington International Racecourse, Crain’s reported. Without it, Tinaglia warned, Illinois risks watching the Bears bolt for northwest Indiana.

The legislation would allow large developments to negotiate long-term property tax agreements with local taxing bodies, giving the Bears predictability through a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, or PILOT, structure. Tinaglia framed the request as reasonable for what would be the largest privately-funded development in state history — and as a necessary response to Indiana’s increasingly public push to lure the NFL franchise.

The letter landed as Illinois officials continue to debate who should shoulder the lingering debt from Soldier Field’s last renovation. Gov. JB Pritzker said Friday that the $534 million still owed on bonds tied to the publicly owned stadium is not the core obstacle to a Bears move, softening a stance he emphasized last fall.

“That is not the core issue,” Pritzker said at a South Side press conference, noting that the borrowing decision was made decades ago. The Bears’ lease at Soldier Field runs through 2033, and even an early exit would leave substantial debt outstanding.

Last year, Pritzker and other lawmakers insisted any new stadium deal must address that obligation. State Rep. Kam Buckner, whose district includes Soldier Field, has remained firm that Chicago taxpayers shouldn’t be left holding the bag, according to the publication.

While Illinois debates, Indiana is moving. A Cincinnati-based law firm, Taft Stettinius & Hollister, recently registered to lobby in Indianapolis on behalf of an affiliate of the Bears, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal. The filing coincided with Indiana lawmakers advancing Senate Bill 27, which would establish a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority empowered to acquire land, finance capital improvements and lease facilities to private entities, including an NFL team.

Authored by state Sens. Ryan Mishler and Chris Garten, the amended bill represents Indiana’s first formal legislative overture to the Bears. The team called it “a significant milestone,” praising Gov. Mike Braun and state lawmakers for advancing a framework to keep talks moving.

The Indianapolis publication also reported Friday that the city of Gary stepped into the fray, and is offering three different sites as possible locations for a new stadium and mixed-use development, ranging from 145 to 760 acres.

— Eric Weilbacher