LEGISLATION ON CHICAGO BEARS’ PROPOSED STADIUM STILL BEING FINALIZED
The Chicago Bears’ stadium legislation is still undecided and probably won’t be decided until the end of the spring legislative session in Springfield on May 31st.
On April 22, 2026, the Illinois House passed a bill 78-32 which supports a new Bears stadium and which would include provisions for property tax relief where the Bears and other developers of so-called megaprojects negotiate with local governments over payments in lieu of higher property taxes based on updated assessments. To garner support for the bill, the House included a provision setting aside a portion of the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) program revenue for local and statewide property tax relief. Once the House finalizes their bill, the Senate has to accept the House’s version or revise and pass the bill by May 2026 which is the end date of the 2026 legislative session. Governor Pritzker has stated that “I put the structure of a deal together with the Bears. The Senate has work to do. They’re going to make changes to the bill, no doubt. I would expect we would see something before May 31 and both houses would vote on that.” One point of contention with the current bill involves a provision intended to grant property tax relief to the residents near a megaproject site and how workable it would be for the Bears and the various taxing bodies, including school districts to come up with a workable plan.
Indiana lawmakers are ahead of Illinois in that they have already passed legislation that enables the creation of a sports authority in Northwest Indiana that would fund a new stadium in Hammond. But the local legislation in two counties that would create hotel, food, beverage and other taxes to fund the project has not yet been passed.
The Chicago Bears have said they plan to make a decision of where to build a stadium by late spring or early summer.
With all of these variables in play, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson jumped back into the fray on Monday by floating the idea which would give Chicago more control over the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (ISFA) which controls how future money is allocated while potentially expanding the agency’s authority to finance other tourism-related infrastructure projects. Governor Pritzker has dismissed this proposal and an aide to the Governor has told media outlets like Crain’s that Mayor Johnson “has not called the governor to discuss the megaprojects bill or the Bears.”
Also, on Monday, May 18th, the mayors of Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Schaumburg have contacted the Governor and want access to the Bears’ long-awaited traffic and transportation study. The mayors are concerned about the broader regional impacts of a new stadium in Arlington Heights and remain unclear about whether local governments could shoulder part of the infrastructure costs and debt obligations tied to the project. The Chicago Bears are seeking public funding for roads, utilities and other site work around the 326-acre property at the former Arlington Park racecourse with estimates of costs as high as $850 million.
Illinois constituents and taxpayers are left with a lot of unanswered questions as the path to a new Bears’ stadium reaches the final weeks of the legislative session. Similar to the Bears’ season, we all can forecast an unpredictable fourth quarter ending of the Bear’s seemingly never-ending stadium drama.
