For the first time this week, Indiana lawmakers have revealed the potential framework for a deal aimed at luring the Chicago Bears to their state.
The Indiana Senate’s appropriations committee held a vote Thursday on the package lawmakers are putting together to woo the Bears, aiming to convince the team to construct a stadium roughly 20 miles from Soldier Field.
According to terms of the framework, approved by the committee Thursday, the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority would establish a 35-year lease on a new stadium site for the Bears, with 40-year bonds used to buy the land and to pay for construction.
Under the terms of the deal, the Bears would pay for repairs and operational costs.
State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, whose district includes parts of Gary, did express concerns with components of the deal.
“I vote aye, but I’ve got a reservation concerning the elimination of minority-interest participation,” he said during the hearing.
Randolph cited the removal of goals within the framework that would have mandated 15% of contracts include minority-owned businesses, and another 5% including businesses owned by women.
Illinois lawmakers have taken note of Indiana’s efforts, with Democrats surveying House members about their priorities and how important keeping the Bears in Illinois would be to them.
One of the questions in the poll included asking whether they would agree to a deal that would permit the Bears to freeze their property tax rates on the Arlington Heights site, a key point of the team’s proposed stadium project in the suburbs.
Jim Tinaglia, mayor of Arlington Heights, has been a proponent of such a deal, and says he still believes the Bears’ preference would be to keep the team in the state of Illinois, and to build their stadium on the suburban site they purchased for that purpose.
“I know, I know in my heart of hearts that George (McCaskey) is very enthusiastic and excited about the idea of coming to Arlington Heights,” he told 670 the Score in an interview Thursday.
State officials are stepping up their evaluation of the proposals surrounding the stadium. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s team has been employing attorney Steve Argeris, a renowned stadium construction expert, for the past 18 months, according to reporting by NBC Chicago.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Argeris is paid more than $1,400 per hour and has already been paid more than $100,000 in legal fees as he meets with Bears representatives and evaluates different proposals around the stadium project.
The governor’s office said that the state is retaining outside counsel in the case because of Argeris’ expertise in sports team finances, and that his insights on the impact to taxpayers has been instrumental in talks with the Bears.
Tinaglia says that Indiana’s pressure on state lawmakers cannot be ignored, and he’s urging Pritzker to protect his legacy as governor.
“I don’t think I’d want to be the Governor of Illinois when and if the Bears were to decide to leave the state altogether,” he said.
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