Arlington Heights legislators involved in behind-the-scenes Bears stadium discussions have left open the door to providing some public assistance for redevelopment should the NFL franchise redirect its focus back to Arlington Park.
But they stopped short of backing the subsidy proposals the team has put on the table to date.
“The deal will not have substantial state funding,” said Democratic state Sen. Mark Walker, whose 27th District includes the former 326-acre racetrack the Bears purchased in 2023. “And if there is tax relief available for the corporate enterprise, we can work that out, provided in the end it balances out to an advantaged situation for the community.”
“I think the Bears are going to come, actually,” Walker added. “But it’s got to be a fair deal.”
Mark Walker
Walker’s declaration came during a recent interview with the Daily Herald Editorial Board ahead of the Nov. 5 general election. A longtime state representative appointed to the Senate seat in May, Walker now is running for a two-year term against Republican Tom Schlenhardt.
Arlington Heights Trustee Nicolle Grasse, who replaced Walker in the 53rd House District, along with fellow Arlington Heights Democratic state Rep. Mary Beth Canty — whose 54th House District includes the sprawling racetrack property — expressed similar caution amid ongoing negotiations with the team.
“Every time we speak, I do make it very clear: I am pro-good development, and if they want to be good neighbors, I am in favor of that,” said Canty, who also served as an Arlington Heights trustee from 2019 to 2023. “But we are facing a really tough budget year coming up, and I think that it is a pretty wild thing to ask the state for dollars for a large for-profit business just to move within its own borders within the state, or to even ask us to do that to keep them from moving out of state, or to keep them in one place.”
Mary Beth Canty
Daily Herald file, 2021
“I don’t think it’s an appropriate ask in a good budget year,” Canty said.
She said the state could offer “guidance” on structuring terms of a short-term deal that wouldn’t “trap taxpayers in.”
Grasse, who is keeping her village trustee seat until May, called for a “measured and calculated approach” in Bears stadium talks. She opposes any state money for the cost of a new stadium itself — which some estimates put upward of $3 billion — but does support assistance for the surrounding development’s infrastructure.
Nicolle Grasse
The Bears have been lobbying legislators since April to help bankroll their vision for a three-phased, $4.7 billion redevelopment that would put an enclosed stadium on Soldier Field’s south parking lot and develop a surrounding recreation and cultural campus. The Bears pledged $2.3 billion in private funds, but want public money for the rest.
Specifically, they want lawmakers to extend Illinois Sports Facilities Authority bonds, backed by the 2% Chicago hotel tax, for 40 years. Under the plan, the agency also would refinance its existing debt taken out for the 2003 Soldier Field renovations and to build Guaranteed Rate Field.
The proposal was labeled a “nonstarter” by Gov. JB Pritzker, and similarly was rejected by the top Democrats who control both legislative chambers.
The Bears shifted focus to pursue a new lakefront stadium, after an earlier pitch for a massive property tax break at Arlington Park failed to gain traction in Springfield.
“I’m in the position right now of, ‘OK, Bears, you tell me what you want, what this deal is going to be,’” Walker said. “‘We’re done in the House and Senate coming up with wonderful solutions out of our heads. I mean, you have a really giant team working on it. Make your proposal that makes sense.’”
Schlenhardt, Walker’s opponent, said he opposes state funding for the Bears, but favors local tax incentives that could bring the team to Arlington Heights.
Tom Schlenhardt
Michele Hunter, the Republican candidate running against Canty, also rejected the notion of state subsidies, but expressed trust in the Arlington Heights Village Board “to help negotiate how to get the Bears here.”
Michele Hunter
Ronald Andermann, Grasse’s GOP opponent, similarly says he has confidence in village leaders to make wise development decisions. And while he agreed that taxpayer money shouldn’t be used to build a new stadium, he left open the door to some state support for the development.
Ronald Andermann
It’s unclear how strongly — if at all — the Bears’ team of lobbyists will push stadium legislation during the General Assembly’s fall veto session that begins a week after the Nov. 5 election.
Team President and CEO Kevin Warren recently noted the fall session as one of the upcoming “political milestones,” along with the so-called lame duck session in January ahead of new legislators being sworn in Jan. 8.
• Daily Herald staff writer Steve Zalusky contributed to this report.