Illinois House unveils new version
of Bears’ megaprojects bill
[April 22, 2026]
By Brenden Moore
SPRINGFIELD — Facing the specter of losing the Chicago Bears to
Indiana, the Illinois House unveiled a new version of property tax
legislation that the team says is a prerequisite for building a new
domed stadium in suburban Arlington Heights.
But whether the new proposal advances the effort remains to be seen,
as amended bill language discussed in the House still hasn’t
received a thorough review from the Senate or governor’s office.
House Democrats, meanwhile, discussed the latest bill language at
length behind closed doors Tuesday, with top negotiators presenting
a plan to the supermajority caucus far more expansive in scope than
the one that passed out of a House committee in late February.
“There were a lot of folks satisfied with some of the changes that
we made, some things that we got tightened up,” said state Rep Kam
Buckner, D-Chicago, the lead House negotiator on the megaprojects
bill. “But I think all in all, it was a very positive caucus.”
Buckner said he plans to file the amendment language with the
intention of it being heard in committee on Wednesday. If it passes
there, the full House could vote on the measure this week. But
importantly, it still must be approved by the Illinois Senate, which
returns to Springfield on April 28. And the changes still need the
blessing of Gov. JB Pritzker.
Pritzker’s office said in a statement that they’re “currently
reviewing the draft amendment” and don’t have further comment at
this time.
“I got some marching orders from my caucus to put together an
amendment that looked more like what was important to us,” Buckner
said. “I’ve been in lockstep with both Deputy Gov. (Andy) Manar and
with (Sen. Bill) Cunningham on this, and so obviously they have not
had a chance to caucus on this yet. They will when they get back,
but I think our job right now is to try to move this forward, and if
there are more conversations that need to be had, of course, we’ll
have those.”
Changes to original bill
The latest changes are aimed at winning over skeptical rank-and-file
lawmakers, whose concerns include the potential shift of property
tax burden to surrounding residents and the long-term impact on
revenues to local communities. And Chicago lawmakers have been wary
of approving a measure incentivizing the team’s departure from
Solider Field, on which taxpayers still owe nearly $500 million in
bonds for early 2000s renovations.
Key to both the original measure and the latest amendment is a
provision that allows the Bears or other “megaproject” developers to
negotiate a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, with local taxing
bodies.
Under the revised language, 50% of the receipts from the PILOT would
go towards property tax relief. Of that, 60% would go to property
tax rebates for residential homeowners in taxing districts with a
megaproject and 40% would be deposited into the state’s existing
property tax relief fund.
“So, the thought process behind that is that if we’re going to give
some property tax certainty and relief to the developers, then we
need to be able to do the same thing for the folks who pay property
taxes, homeowners,” Buckner said.
As Capitol News Illinois reported last week, the new bill strikes
language that would count megaprojects at full market value while
calculating local government borrowing limits and property tax cap
formulas. Some worried that provision would have shifted the tax
burden onto surrounding residential and commercial property owners.
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Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, updates reporters about a megaprojects
bill aimed at incentivizing the Chicago Bears to build a domed
stadium in Arlington Heights. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Ben
Szalinski)
There’s also a new provision that explicitly prohibits use of the
PILOT tool for data centers, which have been identified as a driver
of rising energy costs and demand.
The bill also ends the megaproject incentive after five years, a
so-called “sunset” provision that allows lawmakers to revisit the
effectiveness of the tool. Municipalities with PILOT agreements in
place would also have to provide impact reports to the Illinois
General Assembly every five years.
Other incentives, response
The legislation would also expand the tiers of projects aiming to
redevelop rail yards. Potential projects that could be eligible for
this incentive include the One Central development near Solider
Field and Amtrak’s 14th Street rail yard in Chicago, which is being
eyed by billionaire Justin Ishbia for a redevelopment that could
include a future White Sox ballpark.
Another provision would provide a mechanism to help finance the
expansion of Springfield’s downtown convention center and an
adjacent hotel.
Some of the measures are meant to win over enough votes among
supermajority House Democrats — House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch,
D-Hillside, has an unofficial rule that bills need at least 60
Democrats to be called for a vote on the floor.
State Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, said the latest version is a
step in the right direction.
“I thought Leader Buckner presented a forthcoming amendment that
addresses a lot of the concerns that I and others brought up the
last time this was around,” Guzzardi said. “I thought the concerns
were addressed in a really thoughtful way.”
The megaprojects bill languished on the backburner in Springfield
until earlier this year, when Indiana lawmakers approved a package
aimed at luring the Bears over the state line to a site in Hammond.
Pritzker has pushed the megaprojects concept as a mechanism for not
only keeping the Bears, but attracting other economic development to
the state.
It comes more than three years after the Bears purchased the
326-acre site that formerly housed Arlington Park racetrack. The
team set its sights on leaving Soldier Field and building a new
stadium and surrounding retail and entertainment district at the
massive suburban site. But team officials said it could only be done
with assistance from lawmakers in Springfield.
Ben Szalinski contributed to this report.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state
government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is
funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R.
McCormick Foundation.
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