Petition urges ban use of public funds to build Chicago Bears stadium in Arlington Heights
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (CBS) -- The heat is turning up in Arlington Heights over the future of the Chicago Bears.
Monday Night's hot debate: if taxpayer money can be used for development related to the football stadium.
CBS 2's Lauren Victory went to the old Arlington International Racecourse which may be home to the Bears someday to explain a proposal going in front of the Village Board and what it would mean for taxpayers.
Soaking up the sunshine, diners in Arlington Heights enjoyed warm temperatures on Monday as a downtown debate heats up. A village-sponsored program called "Arlington Al Fresco" expands dining areas into the street during the summer months. Date nights and lots of restaurant revenue could go away if a petition circulating town gets enough steam.
"If you give one company a deal, what happens to all the other companies?" said Brian Costin, who argues the al fresco zone isn't fair to other Arlington Heights businesses. He calls village incentives and financial program "corporate welfare."
"Why should one company get relief and another company not?" said Costin who is deputy director for the Illinois chapter of Americans for Prosperity. The conservative national organization wants to ban corporate welfare across the Country. That policy is easier to rile people up about when you tell them village money from their taxes could help fund the development of a NFL football stadium. Americans for Prosperity is circulating a petition called the "Anti-Corporate Welfare Ordinance."
"This ordinance would prevent something like hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on the Chicago Bears in Arlington Heights," said Costin.
More than 500 residents are signed onto the idea but apparently some are having second thoughts.
"We've gotten several emails from people who said they felt they were misled," said Tom Hayes, mayor of Arlington Heights.
He said the wording of the proposed ordinance is much broader than what's being advertised in a way that'll hurt economic growth. It'd be lights out for Arlington Al Fresco, which uses public works crews to set up and maintain the expanded dining area. Tax credits and small business loans would be banned, too.
"If a business is looking to relocate to a village, they're certainly not going to want to come to a place that can't provide them any kind of financial assistance. So, they would certainly look elsewhere. And so that's why we're so upset and concerned about it," said Hayes.
The Mayor and Board openly oppose the ordinance and plan to dismiss it at Monday night's meeting. The conservative group backing the petition says they'll try to bypass village officials by getting their proposal on a future ballot, a move that will require thousands of signatures from Arlington Heights residents.