The melodrama surrounding the potential new stadium for the Chicago Bears took a new turn as Illinois lawmakers put forth a new bill designed to keep the team in their state.
WLS reports a hearing is set for Thursday in the Illinois House Revenue and Finance Committee on a bill that would provide the Bears with a long-term property tax break on the stadium they were seeking to build in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights. While the Bears agreed to pay for the new domed stadium, they have been at a stalemate with state leaders over public funding of the infrastructure around the stadium and the potential property tax on the site.
While the Bears have been aggressively wooed by Indiana lawmakers with promises of a publicly funded stadium if they crossed the state border, the team has quietly been meeting with Illinois lawmakers every week since December to discuss their future within the Chicago area.
Sources close to the team claim the Bears will announce their future plans in the coming weeks.
