Spring foliage covers the grounds of the former Arlington International Racecourse, April 21, 2026, in Arlington Heights. The vacant land is the possible future site of a new stadium for the Chicago Bears. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
By Jeremy Gorner | Chicago Tribune
The Democratic-run Illinois House on Wednesday passed the latest proposal to help the Chicago Bears build a new stadium in Arlington Heights as lawmakers now look to the Senate to gather enough support to keep the team from relocating to Indiana.
The bill spearheaded by state Rep. Kam Buckner of Chicago, who has led House Democrats’ stadium negotiations, passed 78-32. Only a few Democrats opposed the measure, while some Republicans voted for the plan.
“My friends on the other side of the aisle and the governor certainly cannot afford for the Bears to leave the state of Illinois, and more time will cause greater expense,” Republican state Rep. Martin McLaughlin of Barrington Hills, who voted in favor of the bill, said late Wednesday during the House debate. “Let’s face it, guys, it’s going to happen, and the longer we wait, I can’t watch billions of dollars more in incentives be thrown away.”
The latest bill altered Buckner’s earlier proposal for how special property taxes on the Bears and other developers of so-called megaprojects would be divvied up, a move aimed at sweetening a bill viewed as a favor to the Bears by promoting property tax relief for Illinoisans.
Scott Hagel, a spokesperson for the Bears, issued a statement after the bill’s passage Wednesday night that the team welcomes “the progress made on the House’s version of the (megaproject) 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 (megaproject) bill and aligning on infrastructure funding,” the statement said.
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