CHICAGO (WLS) — One Illinois lawmaker says he still thinks the Arlington Heights proposal has the upper hand over Indiana, and new comments from Chicago Bears leadership suggest the team is being patient with Springfield.
Appearing on NBC’s “Pro Football Talk,” Bears President Kevin Warren dispelled the notion that time is running out for an Arlington Heights Bears stadium deal.
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“We don’t have a set deadline, but I am confident that sometime this spring slash summer, we’ll know,” Warren said.
Those comments come as some have been pressuring Springfield lawmakers to pass, by the end of this month, a bill that would give the Bears property tax certainty and infrastructure funding.
Those applying that pressure feared that the team was running out of patience and could decide to build in Hammond, Indiana after Hoosier state lawmakers passed their own stadium bill.
“What the Bears said today is important. They did not come in with an artificial deadline. They came in with seriousness,” said Illinois state Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago.
Buckner has been leading negotiations with the Bears, which he says continue and are progressing.
“There’s large agreement on most parts of this, which is, you know, makes me feel very optimistic about the path forward,” Buckner said.
Buckner says some of what is still being negotiated has nothing to do with the Bears. The megaprojects bill would apply to any developer investing more than $500 million.
“There’s questions about what kind of businesses, industries can use this. There are some of my colleagues who are concerned that data centers and battery farms may run roughshod on this,” Buckner said.
Lawmakers return to Springfield April 7, and Buckner says he is confident that a bill will be passed before the spring legislative session ends on May 31.
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