Geoff Buchholz talks Bears' megaprojects bill heading to state Senate
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What recent developments are there in the Bears' stadium project?
Rahimi, Harrison, Grody.
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Middays 10 to 2 on 104.3 The Score.
This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. And as much as we also want to talk about the Bears draft in this next segment, there's a lot going on as far as the state legislature is concerned. The pilot bill that is also called the Bears bill, it is payment in lieu of taxes regarding not just the Bears, but other businesses in Illinois when it comes to trying to make a payment instead of property taxes has gone through the house but now it is up to the senate there have been changes so for the latest let's go out to city hall that is where we find jeff buckholtz the wbbm news radio political editor he is joining us also on twitch twitch.tv slash the score chicago jeff how are you
I'm good. Layla, how's it going? I miss you guys. We haven't had a chance to talk in a while.
Yeah, you know, the legislature took a break and probably mercifully for the sports department in our sister station group. So did we. So what can you tell us about just procedurally first to let people know this bill has taken steps forward, but it doesn't sound like they are closer at this point in time to the Bears getting what they want out of the deal.
What is the significance of the Bears' megaprojects bill?
Yeah, that's true. Since the last time we talked about this bill, it got a lot bigger. It picked up a whole lot more stuff. It kind of looks like a Christmas tree now, if you like. There's a provision in there providing tourism assistance for Springfield, and there's incentives in there to develop old rail yards. But the stuff that we really care about is, of course, the megaprojects part of it, which still provides for the opportunity for developers of a so-called megaproject. And there are specific rules about what constitutes a megaproject. to negotiate and set long-term property tax payments with local units of government and other taxing bodies like school districts and park districts in lieu of paying property taxes and having that property taxed.
exposed to changes in assessed value over time. The big change that was made to this legislation is a provision that those negotiated payments, the ones that the mega project developers make to those taxing bodies, 50% of those payments must now be set aside to provide property tax relief. And the way that works is those payments, let's say a payment, let's take a payment of $1,000. 500 of that would go to property tax relief. Of that $500, 60% of it, and here's where my math goes away, 60% of that money would stay in the local community to provide property tax relief for people living around the megaproject. For instance, local governments could set up their own rules for that. And 40%, the remaining 40%, would go to a statewide property tax relief fund that's been in existence for a while, but has never had a funding mechanism for it.
How does the new legislation affect property tax payments for megaprojects?
So it's sitting empty, waiting for someone to decide how to put money in it. And this bill seems to do that. So those are the biggest changes. And the ones that are getting the most attention is this property tax relief portion. And it's consistent with what the House Speaker, Chris Welch, Emanuel Chris Welch, has been saying all along. that the legislature's focus is affordability this year. And this is a big affordability provision in addition to a bill that allows developers across the state some incentive to stay or move to Illinois. And they're super proud of that. The... It's now headed to the Senate. The Senate is out of session. They'll be back in next week. The House is going to wrap up today.
I think they're about to be in session right now. But as you suggest, there's still some room for work to be done. The Bears released a statement after the vote, and the vote came like 7.30, quarter to 8 last night. The Bears released a statement saying that they welcomed the progress, and I want to make sure that I get this right, this particular quote. Additional amendments are necessary to make the Arlington Heights site feasible for our stadium project. It sounds like that means the bears are still looking for help in paying for infrastructure, bigger roads, improved water systems and that kind of thing around the old Arlington Park site.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What recent developments are there in the Bears' stadium project?
0:00–1:22
2
What is the significance of the Bears' megaprojects bill?
1:22–3:20
3
How does the new legislation affect property tax payments for megaprojects?
3:20–5:59
4
What changes were made to the megaprojects bill during the legislative process?
5:59–10:36
5
How will the Bears' statement impact the stadium project negotiations?
10:36–14:42
6
What challenges does the Bears' project face from local politics?
14:42–15:03
Speakers
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