The Chicago Bears executive leading the organization’s effort to build a new stadium met with Gov. JB Pritzker’s top economic development official in August, according to emails obtained by Capitol News Illinois via a public records request.
Sen. Bill Cunningham said a PILOT bill is off the table, the Bears have had several previously undisclosed meetings with the city of Chicago, and Senate Dems want Chicago to be on an “equal plane” in competing for a new stadium.
Gov. JB Pritzker dismissed a last-ditch pitch from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to keep the Chicago Bears from leaving city limits, telling reporters Monday morning that the mayor had “no plan” to do so.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson tested his clout in Springfield this week by – publicly and privately – urging state lawmakers to reject a megaprojects bill that would clear the way for the team to leave the city’s lakefront for a domed stadium in suburban Arlington Heights.
Some Illinois House Republicans say they’d vote for a megaprojects bill to help the Chicago Bears build a stadium in Arlington Heights if Democrats include broader property tax relief in their plan.
