Chicago Bears execs presented the NFL with a stadium update yesterday, and what did they say, commissioner Roger Goodell?
“There was a specific update on the Bears on the two sites that are viable in the Bears’ mind,” he said. “That process is going on.”…
“I’ve spoken to the governor [of Illinois] recently and there’s a focus on getting something done, and there will be two viable options for the Bears to choose from,” he said.
That is definitely a specific update on … something. The two sites Bears owner George McCaskey is considering, in Arlington Heights, Illinois and Hammond, Indiana, will continue to be two sites that are options! Options the Bears can choose from!
Back in the world of actual news reporting, there’s still no indication of what if anything the state senate and house will pass in terms of the megaprojects tax break bill that Bears officials want before agreeing to an Arlington Heights stadium. The Illinois legislative session wraps up next week, and it seems likely that something will pass, but there’s no telling whether it’ll be the same something that McCaskey wants — let alone the additional subsidies the Bears owner wants as well.
With that in mind, Goodell’s statement seems like an attempt at momentum building, or at least momentum not destroying: The stadium talks are going according to plan, all will work out, there’s definitely nothing that’s a crisis or anything. It’s very possible that no one really knows what the Illinois legislature will do, and that also no one knows what Bears ownership will do if they don’t get everything they’ve demanded — up and move to Indiana, or take what they can get in Illinois? Past stadium games of chicken have gone both ways, it’s tough to predict unless you live in George McCaskey’s brain, assuming even he’s decided at this point. Leverage is hard!
The House put the Senate in a bind. By trying to make the bill broader so it didn’t look like a handout to the Bears, they created a monstrosity which would cost Illinoisans tens of millions across the state. Here’s to hoping the Senate doesn’t bother to fix it – Indiana beckons.
I don’t think that’s correct — the megaprojects bill was always going to apply to more than just the Bears, costing way more than just the couple billion the Arlington Heights deal likely would. What the House did was to peel off an additional slice of payments in lieu of property taxes and put it into a bucket marked “property tax relief,” which is just moving money from one government pocket to another and therefore meaningless in terms of actual public cost.
What I mean is extrapolating the early Bears proposals into one about megaprojects statewide is exposing the bill for its many flaws. Buckner believed originally that making it a broader bill would serve as political cover for what was really a Bears-centric proposal. Yes, the Senate is not happy with what the House sent over because of the provision you mentioned, but this bill wouldn’t be have been written at all if it weren’t for the Bears’ allies in the House. The provision you mentioned was the result of later compromises.
And yet we are still waiting for the Red Line Extension that is costing over $5B to build more transit line at grade or elevated over a ROW most railroad already.
Please make it make sense.
Hey, Bears, if Indiana and Illinois don’t hand over enough billions for your liking, Missouri might be without an NFL team soon, and their politicians love giving away money to sports franchises.