Article Summary<\/p>\n
House lawmakers met for several hours behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss the latest amendment to a bill aimed at keeping the Chicago Bears in Illinois.
\nThe bill\u2019s House sponsor says he plans to file an amendment this week, although it\u2019s unclear if the Senate and governor\u2019s office will be on board.
\nThe measure would allow the Bears and other \u201cmegaproject\u201d developers to negotiate payments in lieu of taxes with local taxing bodies.
\nOne amendment would ensure half of those PILOT dollars would go toward property tax relief.<\/p>\n
This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.<\/p>\n
SPRINGFIELD \u2014 Facing the specter of losing the Chicago Bears to Indiana, the Illinois House unveiled a new version of property tax legislation that the team says is a prerequisite for building a new domed stadium in suburban Arlington Heights.<\/p>\n
But whether the new proposal advances the effort remains to be seen, as amended bill language discussed in the House still hasn\u2019t received a thorough review from the Senate or governor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
House Democrats, meanwhile, discussed the latest bill language at length behind closed doors Tuesday, with top negotiators presenting a plan to the supermajority caucus far more expansive in scope than the one that passed out of a House committee in late February.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a lot of folks satisfied with some of the changes that we made, some things that we got tightened up,\u201d said state Rep Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, the lead House negotiator on the megaprojects bill. \u201cBut I think all in all, it was a very positive caucus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buckner said he plans to file the amendment language with the intention of it being heard in committee on Wednesday. If it passes there, the full House could vote on the measure this week. But importantly, it still must be approved by the Illinois Senate, which returns to Springfield on April 28. And the changes still need the blessing of Gov. JB Pritzker.<\/p>\n
Pritzker\u2019s office said in a statement that they\u2019re \u201ccurrently reviewing the draft amendment\u201d and don\u2019t have further comment at this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got some marching orders from my caucus to put together an amendment that looked more like what was important to us,\u201d Buckner said. \u201cI\u2019ve been in lockstep with both Deputy Gov. (Andy) Manar and with (Sen. Bill) Cunningham on this, and so obviously they have not had a chance to caucus on this yet. They will when they get back, but I think our job right now is to try to move this forward, and if there are more conversations that need to be had, of course, we\u2019ll have those.\u201d<\/p>\n
Changes to original bill<\/p>\n
The latest changes are aimed at winning over skeptical rank-and-file lawmakers, whose concerns include the potential shift of property tax burden to surrounding residents and the long-term impact on revenues to local communities. And Chicago lawmakers have been wary of approving a measure incentivizing the team\u2019s departure from Solider Field, on which taxpayers still owe nearly $500 million in bonds for early 2000s renovations.<\/p>\n
Key to both the original measure and the latest amendment is a provision that allows the Bears or other \u201cmegaproject\u201d developers to negotiate a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, with local taxing bodies.<\/p>\n
Under the revised language, 50% of the receipts from the PILOT would go towards property tax relief. Of that, 60% would go to property tax rebates for residential homeowners in taxing districts with a megaproject and 40% would be deposited into the state\u2019s existing property tax relief fund.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, the thought process behind that is that if we\u2019re going to give some property tax certainty and relief to the developers, then we need to be able to do the same thing for the folks who pay property taxes, homeowners,\u201d Buckner said.<\/p>\n