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 The Arlington Heights Village Board rejected a
proposed referendum 9-0 on Oct. 3 to block the creation of local subsidies for
the Chicago Bears stadium development.
The “Anti-Corporate Welfare Ordinance” petition circulated by Americans for
Prosperity-Illinois sought to prohibit the disbursement of taxpayer funds to
incentivize building the $5 billion stadium and supporting infrastructure.
The ordinance was signed by 565 Arlington Heights residents. Mayor Thomas Hayes
said it would cause a “severe negative economic impact” for the community. But
Americans for Prosperity-Illinois Deputy Director Brian Costin told board
members the proposal will return.
“Our ordinance is about equality before the law,” Costin said. “You shouldn’t be
forced … to pay for the profits of others. … The citizens of Arlington Heights
deserve to have the final say on the issue of corporate welfare.”
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The Bears said the team would pay to build the stadium on the former site of the
Arlington International horse race track. The team is seeking help from local
taxpayers to construct roads and utilities that would support the new mixed-use
development.
Experts suspect the Bears will seek subsidies through tax increment financing,
diverting future property tax dollars to repay bonds used for stadium
infrastructure. Property tax revenue would be frozen for existing taxing bodies,
such as schools, for 23 years as the development captured the revenue from the
property’s value increasing.
Costin will need to gather signatures from nearly 7,000 registered voters in
Arlington Heights to get the referendum on a future ballot.
Chicagoans are still on the hook for $415 million for past renovations made in
2002 to Solider Field. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has pitched another round of
renovations that would cost each city taxpayer anywhere from $833 to $2,036 as a
way to keep the football team from moving out of Chicago.
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