Indiana is ready and willing to build a stadium for the Bears. Illinois is still trying to prove that it’s able.
Via the Chicago Sun-Times, the Illinois House of Representatives has passed a bill that creates a property-tax incentive for the Bears to build their new venue on property the team owns in Arlington Heights.
The measure, passed by a vote of 78-32, would allow the Bears to skip traditional property taxes in lieu of negotiated (and undoubtedly far lower) payments. The Illinois Senate will now take up the issue.
Tax breaks are a different way to funnel taxpayer money into a stadium project. In lieu of diverting existing public dollars, the Bears would simply be paying fewer dollars to the public.
As explained by Christopher Placek of the Arlington Daily Herald, the 376-page bill (which has grown from only 38 pages) is just one of the governmental incentives necessary to persuade the Bears to not cross the border.
However it goes, the clock is ticking on keeping the team from going to a different state. The Bears anticipate knowing whether Illinois will be able to put a deal together by early summer.
Regardless of whether Illinois does what the Bears want, it remains to be seen whether they’d actually move to Indiana. A recent Chicago Tribune poll found that only 38 percent of respondents would continue to support the Bears if they left Illinois, and that 15 percent would change allegiances to another team.
Of course, it’s one thing to say it. It’s another thing to do it. For most fans, sports teams are like family members. No matter what they do, they remain family members — and any threats to disown them end up being impossible to execute.
That said, it’s far better for the Bears to be in Illinois. And, for now, it seems that the Indiana option is aimed solely at breaking the logjam in Illinois.
So far, it seems to be working.
In his first two years in the NFL, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has completed more passes to D.J. Moore than to any other receiver. Now Moore has been traded to the Bills, and that’s an adjustment for Williams.
Williams said he’s sad to see Moore go but gets why the Bears felt they had to make the move, which brought in a second-round pick from Buffalo while saving Chicago about $16.5 million in salary cap space.
“D.J. is a pro, he’s been that since he’s been in the league. On the football side of it, obviously you’re going to miss him out there making plays,” Williams said. “But on the other side of the football side, you do understand there’s a business side to it and you’ve got to roll with the punches. I don’t have that choice. From there, you understand it. On my side, personal side, I’ll miss the guy.”
Williams said he’s happy for Moore that he ended up in a Bills offense where he’ll have a lot of opportunities to make plays.
“You build up a relationship on a personal level and it sucks that he has to go,” Williams said. “I’m excited for him the rest of his career to see what he does.”
Moore was the Bears’ No. 1 wide receiver in all three of his seasons in Chicago, but his receiving yardage declined each year. Ben Johnson’s Bears offense likes to spread the ball around, and while Williams may miss Moore personally, the Bears are banking on the continued development of the offense meaning that Moore won’t be missed much on the field.
Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards fractured his fibula in the team’s playoff win over the Packers in January and he provided an update on how he’s recovering at a press conference on Tuesday.
Edwards said he feels like he’s in a “good spot” a few months after the injury and suggested that he’s targeting a return to full speed ahead of the regular season.
“I don’t want to put a date on it or anything like that,” Edwards said. “Knowing me, I will push as hard as I can to move that as quickly as possible, but I also want to be smart about it too. It is April. As hard as it is to not be out there every step of the way right now during phase one, I know I’m on a really good plan with the trainers. I’ll be ready when it’s time to go, for sure.”
Edwards also missed time with a broken hand last season, but started all 11 games he played and he also started every game for the Bears during his first two seasons with the team. If all continues to go smoothly, a return to the starting lineup in Week 1 could be in the cards.
The Bears are looking to leave the city of Chicago and build a new stadium in the suburbs, and now Illinois and Indiana are jockeying to see which side of the state line the Bears will go to.
Indiana has already passed legislation that would use significant taxpayer money to build the Bears a new stadium. The Illinois legislature is now considering a bill of its own that would freeze property tax assessments on the team’s proposed stadium in Arlington Heights, allowing the Bears to pay a lot less than they otherwise would have.
The Bears have already bought the Arlington Heights site, previously home of a horse racing track, but put plans to build a stadium there on hold when they found out how much they were likely to pay on property taxes there.
Whether the Illinois legislation passes may depend on whether enough concessions are put into place to get legislators representing Chicago on board. They want assurances that the Bears’ current location, Soldier Field, will get state support to remain a viable venue for other events, even as the Bears leave.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who has long opposed spending tax dollars directly on building a stadium, has indicated that he supports the plan to give the Bears a property tax break and hopes the legislature will pass it.
The Bears expect to decide between Illinois and Indiana within the next few months.
Caleb Williams proved last season he has ice water in his veins, even if he isn’t the original Iceman.
The Bears quarterback led the team to an 11-6 record, the NFC North title and a playoff win in his second season, his first with Ben Johnson as his coach. Williams passed for 3,942 yards with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
He wants more.
“It was good for me to be able to see, to be able to feel, to go be able to go out there and win games, but that wasn’t my goal,” Williams said, via Chris Emma of The Score. “That’s not my goal. That’s not where I want to be. I want to be the best. I want to go win. I want to be a world champion, a Super Bowl champion. I want to be the best Bear quarterback, the best quarterback. So, my goals, that was a good stepping stone for me, but that wasn’t the last stepping stone. Being able to grow off of last year and be able to progress in ways that I want to. That last year wasn’t really anything. It was a good year, and we have many more good years coming up.”
The spotlight will be even brighter this season for the 2024 No. 1 overall pick, but as he has shown, he thrives under the pressure. Williams is ready to have the target on his back.
“I’ve always expected this because I wanted to be here,” Williams said. “This is where I wanted to be. I’ve wanted to be in this position. I’ve always said if winning games and championships comes with a little bit more light, then so be it. We’re going to keep chugging along. I have goals in mind and what I want to reach myself. It mainly deals with winning.”
