SPRINGFIELD – Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is scheduled to meet with Illinois legislative leaders on Tuesday in Springfield as he seeks state funding for a new baseball stadium in Chicago’s South Loop.
A spokesperson for House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said the Hillside Democrat is set to meet with Reinsdorf Tuesday afternoon. A spokesperson for Democratic Senate President Don Harmon of Oak Park, who met with Reinsdorf earlier, could not be reached for comment.
The scheduled meeting comes as the White Sox and developers push to bring a new ballpark to the vacant site known as “The 78” at Clark Street and Roosevelt Road. Reinsdorf is seeking about $1 billion in taxpayer funding to help pay for the project, according to a report last week from Crain’s Chicago Business.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker earlier this month said his administration plans to meet with developers about the project. A spokesperson for the governor said Tuesday that Pritzker had no imminent plans to meet with Reinsdorf in Springfield. The spokesperson declined to comment on a timeline for the planned meeting between the administration and developers.
Pritzker praised conceptual renderings of a Sox stadium from developer Related Midwest, calling them “beautiful.”
But for Related Midwest and Reinsdorf, securing public funding could be a challenge.
As he prepares to present his budget proposal on Wednesday, Pritzker faces a shortfall of nearly $900 million and challenges stemming from the ongoing migrant crisis. The governor has been lukewarm about allocating public funds for sports stadiums beyond typical infrastructure costs, a position he repeatedly has taken in discussions of a new Chicago Bears stadium.
So far, the proposal from Related Midwest has been speculative with no funding sources identified. The developer owns the site near Roosevelt Road and Clark Street and has suggested a new ballpark could create billions of dollars in annual economic benefits and tens of thousands of jobs, though those projections have not been publicly backed up.
If such a proposal gets the blessing from the Democrat-led legislature, lawmakers would likely have to change state law to get taxpayer funding for a new stadium, as the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority — which would finance the stadium — doesn’t have available funds for the development.
Additionally, Related Midwest has proposed placing a soccer field, affordable housing and other residences in and around the current White Sox stadium, Guaranteed Rate Field, on the South Side. The firm does not own the land near the ballpark and has acknowledged that figuring out the land use would be a complex process.
Related Midwest previously had an initial meeting with Harmon about the proposed development of the area, spokesperson John Patterson said earlier this month. Welch has met with the company as well.
Reinsdorf has also met with Mayor Brandon Johnson in January, the team and mayor have said.
Olander reported from Chicago.
jgorner@chicagotribune.com
