Chris Welch shares insight on Bears' megaprojects bill making progress in Illinois House (Hour 2)
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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What began as a conversation about the Chicago Bears resulted in a statewide tool for economic development paired with real property tax relief for working people.
That is the Speaker of the Illinois House, Emanuel Chris Welch, talking about the Mega Projects Bill, the Pilot Bill, whichever you call it.
What is the main topic of the megaprojects bill being discussed?
It does include what would happen to the Chicago Bears Stadium if it were to be in Arlington Heights. Taking steps to pass through the House. Now next stop is the Senate. This is Rahimi Harris and Grody on 104.3 The Score. We are awaiting word from Chris Welch. He is set to join us right now on our shows, so... Before we get to that, the Bears did have a statement about the bill passing. They said, quote, We welcome the progress made on the House's version of the Mega Project Bill. However, additional amendments are necessary to make the Arlington Heights site feasible for our stadium project. We support Illinois leaders as they determine the path forward to making the essential changes to the Mega Project Bill and aligning on infrastructure funding.
End quote. If you missed it earlier... Jeff Buchholz, the political editor for WBBM, gave us the nuts and bolts regarding what the bill entails, why this statement is essentially outlining what should be A simple fix for state lawmakers if they choose to do so.
What are the implications of the bill for the Chicago Bears' stadium plans?
We understand who's also gotten involved in this bill. So if you want to listen to that, he was on with us at 1025. In the meantime, as we look at this, we now have to figure out what's next regarding the bears and possibly what they are implying when it comes to this piece of the statement.
Strongest word in this statement is the however.
It is. After a semicolon, no less.
However.
I said what I said, but this semicolon means there's another thought that goes along with this, and it is however. The additional amendments that are necessary, that's what they're asking for, for this Arlington Heights site to be feasible in their eyes for the stadium project. I wonder what amendments we're talking about, and really how many amendments we're talking about, because we already know this has become a thick... binder of paper.
Yeah, it's not just the Bears bill. And that's, I think, a part of this is when you read it and people tweet about it in that way, they may be doing so as a form of jargon, but this is not just a bill about the Bears. Kevin Warren has said himself, this is a bill the state was working on for many years. So keep that in mind. The Bears are affected.
It's imperative to the Bears.
What does Speaker Chris Welch say about the next steps for the bill?
It's incredibly important for the Bears. You can't not have it. So I do understand why people associate it. And I don't know that I got the answer from Jeff Buchholz, because I don't think he knows at this point. None of us do, and we could ask Chris when he comes on, but... They mentioned infrastructure funding as part of the amendment and things that they're still looking. I don't know how you guys feel, but I thought that that part we were cool with. It was a given, right? Yeah. And I still don't know if that's the issue. It's hard to tell in the language and what the bears shot back after being very careful with their words. We're happy with the progress that is made.
What concerns did the Bears express regarding the bill?
But as you said, Marshall, the however portion of it is interesting. And I'm still a little bit in the gray on what that is.
Well, it's also negotiation. You know, we see what we thought was agreed upon language. Cam Buckner comes back a few weeks ago and says, hey, what about the 500 million plus that's still owed by the taxpayers of Cook County on the Soldier Field renovation from 2003? So I feel like this is part of the process when it comes to. your interests being heard by Springfield and the state legislature. So that's why we want to get Chris Welch on. And additionally, there are statements made by Mark Gannis regarding the progress of this bill on our station that we want to address with him. He now joins us live here on 104.3 The Score on our hotline. He's also on Twitch, twitch.tv slash The Score Chicago.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:26
2
What is the main topic of the megaprojects bill being discussed?
0:26–1:30
3
What are the implications of the bill for the Chicago Bears' stadium plans?
1:30–2:39
4
What does Speaker Chris Welch say about the next steps for the bill?
2:39–3:16
5
What concerns did the Bears express regarding the bill?
3:16–5:18
6
How does the bill serve as a tool for economic development in Illinois?
5:18–8:27
7
What are the key amendments needed for the Arlington Heights site?
8:27–14:12
8
What challenges are faced in passing the bill through the Senate?
14:12–41:08
Speakers
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