Does the Chicago Bears’ dramatic improvement this season, culminating in their first playoff run in five years, change the discussion about where they will build a new stadium? Meanwhile, Gregory Berger, Arlington Heights Memorial Library Digital Services Supervisor, got a lucky photo of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Bears CEO Kevin Warren, and Bears Chairman George McCaskey visiting the Chicago Bears former Arlington Park property on Saturday, hours before the Bears-Packers playoff game (CBS Chicago). YouTube Tips ⓘ
By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker says the state will not build a stadium for the Chicago Bears.
Pritzker spoke to reporters at Illinois State University in Normal on Tuesday and said building a stadium is about what’s best for the taxpayers.
“We’re not gonna build a stadium for the Chicago Bears. Again, they’re a private business. We have offered to do a number of things, still talking as we always do with the Bears about how best to meet their needs,” the governor said.
Pritzker reiterated he is open to state funding of infrastructure for a Bears stadium and said there have been ongoing conversations.
The governor suggested local governments could work on property tax relief the team has been seeking.
“That’s not something the state controls,” Pritzker said.
Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren announced Dec. 17 that the NFL team had expanded its search for a new stadium site to include Northwest Indiana.
Former Illinois state Rep. Mark Batinick said Indiana officials could use their state’s tax structure to attract the Bears.
“They may be able to work within something that’s closer to their regular tax structure and not necessarily give away the store, like they did in Kansas City, to lure the Bears across the state line,” Batinick told The Center Square.
Last month, the Kansas City Chiefs announced plans to leave Missouri for a future stadium in Kansas. The move was fueled in part by sales tax and revenue bonds and the Kansas legislature’s creation of the Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund.
Batinick released a white paper Tuesday saying the Bears stadium debate has been mishandled for three quarters, but there is a path forward that protects taxpayers.
The former GOP lawmaker said Cook County is the only county in the nation with a two-tiered property tax system.
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