Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is making a new effort to stop the Chicago Bears from moving out of his city by calling out a proposed property tax break that would enable to the team to build a new domed stadium in suburban Arlington Heights.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports Johnson is challenging state legislators to explain why a team valued at nearly $9 billion is getting preferential tax break treatment when education and social services are not receiving priority attention.
“If we’re asking anyone to tighten the belt, we should look at whose belt is exploding — and that’s the ultra-rich,” Johnson declared in a press conference. “As their bellies get fat and our people are starving, this is not the time to balance the budget off the backs of working people. The type of tax structure that they would set up for large corporations and billionaires without a clear pathway to provide certainty as well as equity for everyday working people, I believe that’s a mismatch there. And quite frankly, the infrastructure they’re even discussing in the suburbs — those infrastructure needs have been present on the lakefront for a very long time.”
Neither the Bears nor the NFL are considering a future for the team in Chicago. In addition to the Arlington Heights stadium proposal, the team is considering an offer to relocate across the state line to Hammond, Indiana, which is a 20-minute drive from Chicago.
Nonetheless, Johnson is hoping the team can remain in the city.
“I’m building things in this city,” he continued. “I want to build more things in this city. Why is that important? Because it creates opportunities for Chicagoans. Why would I advocate for something that wouldn’t benefit the people of Chicago? I don’t know why any Chicago legislator would vote for anything that doesn’t benefit the people that they represent.”
However, State Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) insisted the bill that would provide a property tax break for the team if they moved to Arlington Heights would also help Chicago.
“We do it in a way that’s smart and benefits residents,” Buckner said. “There are minority contracting requirements in there. There is property tax relief in there for the people of Chicago. There’s jobs. There’s investment. There’s real pathways. Focusing on Arlington Heights is missing the broader conversation about what is in this bill.”
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