As the Chicago Bears continue to face massive hurdles in Springfield over plans to build a domed stadium next to Soldier Field, the team said Monday it has reached an agreement over property taxes for the 326 acres of land it owns in Arlington Heights that had tripped up plans to build a new stadium in the northwest suburb.
Team officials said they had agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding involving the amount of taxes to be paid for the former site of the Arlington International Racecourse. If approved by the village and local school boards, which could happen next month, the agreement does not guarantee the team will build a stadium there, but it does shift some momentum back toward the suburban site and keeps the team’s options even more open than before.
“The Chicago Bears remain focused on investing over $2 billion to build a publicly owned enclosed stadium on Chicago’s lakefront while reevaluating the feasibility of a development in Bronzeville,” Bears officials said in a team statement released Monday. “That being said, we remain significant landowners in Arlington Heights and establishing a framework for potential future development planning, financing and property tax certainty has been a priority since the land was purchased. We continue to have productive conversations with the village and school districts and are aligned on a framework should we choose to explore a potential development.”
Despite its focus on building a new stadium in Chicago, the team has never closed the door on the Arlington Heights site, especially as the lakefront proposal has withered due to opposition from state leaders.
Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes called the deal a “significant step.”
“We’ve had productive conversations with the Bears and the school districts, and we believe we’re in agreement on a framework for moving forward on the previously unresolved tax issues,” Hayes said. “I do anticipate this agreement would be formalized in the near future. It outlines a more clear path forward.”
In addition to the site next to Soldier Field and the Arlington Heights property, which the team purchased last year, another site the Bears are looking at is the land once occupied by Michael Reese Hospital in Bronzeville near Lake Michigan.
The Bears previously dismissed the old Michael Reese site as being too small and said the site also was unworkable because it’s next to Metra train tracks that pose a security risk, all of which Hayes pointed to as reasons he is bullish on Arlington Heights.
“If the Bears come back, it’s going to be a much easier road,” Hayes said about the suburban site, adding he hopes progress is made between the taxing bodies and the team in the first half of next year. “We’re on the same sheet of music. All sides are ready to pursue the opportunity when the Bears turn back in our direction. I’m encouraged something could happen in the spring to enable a new stadium in Arlington Heights.”
After the Bears released their statement, the three local school districts — Community Consolidated School District 15 in Palatine, Arlington Heights-based Township High School District 214, and Palatine-based High School District 211 — released a joint statement of their own Monday: “We continue to believe Arlington Heights remains an incredible opportunity, and we have a common understanding with the team on how to create a framework for potential development, financing, and property tax certainty in Arlington Heights that works for all parties. We look forward to future conversations.”
The Bears bought the 326-acre former Arlington Park in 2023 for $197 million and announced plans for a $2 billion enclosed stadium as part of a $5 billion mixed-use development.
But after new team President Kevin Warren took over that year, he said that local schools’ proposals for taxes on the site were a deal-breaker, and turned the team’s attention back to the city. With Mayor Brandon Johnson’s support, the team earlier this year proposed contributing $2 billion toward a $3.2 billion enclosed, publicly owned stadium to replace Soldier Field. That $3.2 billion figure doesn’t include the $1.5 billion in infrastructure money funded by the public that the team says would be needed to fully realize its vision for a year-round venue and surrounding park space.
Gov. JB Pritzker and legislative leaders have thrown cold water on the idea, saying the state has priorities other than providing major funding to a private business.
Both the lakefront and Arlington Heights plans would involve public dollars, something lawmakers have been cool on for both sites. But some northwest suburban state lawmakers said recently the recent developments were encouraging.
Democratic state Sen. Mark Walker of Arlington Heights said that despite the team’s agreement with the school districts, bigger financial issues as to how the project would be paid for still need to be resolved. Team officials have said they would need public funding to help pay for infrastructure such as new expressway ramps for the Arlington Heights site.
A previous proposal for a Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, in which the long-term taxes would be addressed, would require state legislation. But funding concerns could be exacerbated by a projected state budget hole of nearly $3.2 billion for the next fiscal year that would prevent the lawmakers from granting significant taxpayer subsidies. The concerns also include Johnson’s struggles to balance his proposed $17.3 billion budget, with aldermen earlier this month voting unanimously to spike his plan to implement a $300 million property tax hike.
“I would think that the local communities, especially Arlington Heights, have more flexibility on providing property tax relief than would the city (of Chicago) at this point,” said Walker. “But the issues of capital and state funding are still out there and…my guess is that the Bears would have to find another source for the big capital.”
State Rep. Mary Beth Canty, who has continued to advocate for the Bears to move to Arlington Heights, called the memorandum of understanding “a positive step forward.”
“I think this is a great opportunity and I think that they could do a lot of good here. They have the opportunity to be really good neighbors,” Canty, an Arlington Heights Democrat, said of the Bears. “I’ll be anxious to see what the boards have to say when they go over it in their meetings as I’m sure they’ll be required to do. But I think everybody is coming to the table thinking positively and also thinking about what does the community need, what does the community want and how can we deliver on those things in a way that moves everyone forward.”
The agreement would cover taxes going forward, but the Bears continue to appeal the team’s 2023 tax bill to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board. The team also demolished the former race track stadium to lower its taxes, leaving the site vacant.
Suburban school officials have always doubted the taxes were the determining factor in the team’s decision to play in Arlington Heights since they offered less than the estimated $9 million tax bill, a relatively small amount in what would be a multi-billion dollar deal.
The taxes were raised after Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi raised the property’s assessed valuation to near the site’s $197 million purchase price. Ultimately, the assessor would have to approve any agreement on taxes.
