Arlington Heights village board approves agreement with Bears, nearby school districts
CHICAGO (CBS) — The Arlington Heights village board gave the green light Monday night to a property tax deal with the Bears and area school districts. It's another step forward as the possible future home of the Bears.
This new agreement doesn't mean the Bears will build their new stadium in Arlington Heights, but it does put the conversation back on the table. The team says it is still focusing on a new stadium in Chicago.
The village board met to discuss the future of the former race track property and approve a "memorandum of understanding agreement." The board went on to vote unanimously in favor of the agreement.
Surrounding school districts will vote on the deal this week.
Details on the agreement were posted late Friday on the village website. It says the Bears would save about $5 million a year in property taxes under the deal.
The agreement sets 2027 as a deadline for the team to commit to building a new stadium before tax increases take effect. The deal also sets the annual tax on the Arlington Heights site at about $3.6 million, down from almost $9 million for the 2023 tax year.
If the team moves forward with building a new stadium by the deadline, payments will stay the same. If not, they will increase between 2% and 5% starting in 2028.
Earlier this year, the team put the Arlington Heights plan on the back burner in favor of building a new stadium along the lakefront. The plan called for $900 million in public financing, which Governor JB Pritzker called a "non-starter."
Last month, the Bears announced they were considering building yet another stadium on the former Michael Reese Hospital site in Bronzeville. Though the team said Arlington Heights isn't their first pick, Village President Tom Hayes is still hopeful the Bears will end up there.
"I'm still very positive that Arlington Park is the best site for the Bears, " he said. "it was important for us to get everybody on the same sheet of music. What we were looking for out of this deal is to get it farther down the road and more specific plans from the bears that will allow us to do our own due diligence so that we can make sure it's a win-win and net positive for our community.
Mayor Brandon Johnson was asked about the proposal in November.
"My goal is to keep them in Chicago, and as long as we're clear about not just keeping them in Chicago, but creating new opportunities for real economic development, that is important," Johnson said.