Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) presenting the Chicago Bears stadium bill on the senate floor Monday morning. [Camryn Cutinello/The Daily Line]

A measure that would keep the Chicago Bears passed the Illinois Senate early Monday morning, but did not receive a vote in the Illinois House of Representatives.

After talks on the “megaprojects” proposal devolved Saturday, lawmakers spent most of Sunday discussing alternative solutions that would keep the team in Illinois. 

Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) presented that alternative solution to senators early Monday, who approved it with bipartisan support. Despite that, the measure was not called for a vote on the House floor. 

Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Chicago) said during his end of the year speech to lawmakers that the legislature will continue discussions on the measure into the summer. 

“There's a lot of work still ahead of us,” he said. “We'll continue discussions on a number of issues, including our approach to the Bears stadium question, this summer.”

He told reporters that House members are used to taking their time with legislation. Asked if the issue could come up during the fall veto session, Welch said the issue would be resolved “sooner than later.” 

He said a special session is not planned.

In a statement, the Bears said “we will finalize our evaluation of both Arlington Heights and Hammond, and remain on the late spring/early summer timeline that we have previously communicated. We will provide an update when we have a decision to share."

Senate approved measure

House Bill 958 was approved by the Senate 37-17. The measure would allow any municipality in Cook County with a population above 70,000 to create their own stadium authority. That could include Arlington Heights or Chicago. 

Cunningham said the team and municipality could enter into an agreement where the team would finance the stadium, but the municipality would own it. That would mean the stadium would not pay property taxes. 

“That is exactly what the Bears have asked for,” he told reporters. “They said they’d build a stadium, they were just concerned about property tax certainty. This gives them property tax certainty. Just like today at Soldier Field, and this hypothetical stadium, they would pay no property taxes.” 

The authority would be created through a resolution, with members appointed by the mayor. The municipality would be able to raise property taxes or issue bonds to support a stadium project, though Cunningham said that should not apply to the Bears project. The team has previously said they would commit $2 billion to the project. 

A municipality could also give the stadium authority the ability to raise property taxes or issue bonds. 

The measure is not Bears specific and could apply to other teams who wish to construct a stadium in a municipality that fits the criteria. The Chicago White Sox have also been eyeing a move from their current South Side site. 

Cunningham said if the Bears were to land at Arlington Heights, they would have to transfer ownership of the land — which they purchased in 2023 — to the municipality. They would then finance construction of the stadium and enter into a lease agreement with the team. 

“I would remind you, the exact same mechanics [are] set up in Northwest Indiana,” he said. “The Indiana State Legislature created a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority for this exact purpose.” 

The Indiana deal allowed the team to purchase the stadium for $1. Cunningham said the measure is HB 958 is silent on such a mechanism and that it would be up to the team and municipality to negotiate such a deal. 

He said they decided not to expand the authority of the existing Illinois Sports Facilities Authority — which was used to finance renovations on Soldier Field — due to the debt still owed. 

The team has also requested support for infrastructure improvements in the area surrounding the new stadium. Cunningham said that would be discussed separately. 

Sen. Donald DeWitte (R-West Dundee) spoke in support of the measure, saying “if you believe in the concept of local government, I believe that is exactly what this proposal does.” 

Sen. Robert Peters (D-Chicago) — whose district includes Soldier Field — also expressed his support despite being one of the previous Democratic no votes. He said the measure has his support because it gave Chicago a chance to keep the team within the city. 

But Sen. Willie Preston (D-Chicago) said he believed the measure did not give Chicago an equal chance to keep the Bears in the city. 

“I can't support this legislation for many reasons, from the dishonesty of it, from the loss to the city of Chicago that I believe is going to occur once they move forward to the Northwestern suburbs,” he said. “Congratulations Arlington Heights Bears.” 

Preston did not vote on the measure. 

Cunningham said the governor has said he is supportive of the process laid out in the measure. The Daily Line has contacted his office for a statement.