MOORE’S SUMMARY: A week after telling the Chicago Bears to focus on what they want in stadium legislation, Gov. JB Pritzker said Tuesday that the organization has “asked for advice” and that his staff and legislators “have offered them that.” But they still have not articulated specific details necessary to warrant calling lawmakers back to Springfield.
“It’s one thing to articulate generally what you want, it’s another thing to actually say ‘we’d like a provision like this or a provision like that,’” Pritzker told reporters following an unrelated event in Chicago, adding that the team has lobbyists on payroll and lawmakers willing to assist them in that effort.
WHY IT MATTERS: The Bears announced earlier this month that they were turning the focus of their stadium project to Hammond, Indiana. It came days after Illinois lawmakers failed to advance legislation that would have guaranteed the team tax certainty on a stadium in Illinois. But at the same time, the Bears said that an exact site in Indiana has not been selected and told top Illinois lawmakers they hope to continue conversations.
Another wrinkle was added this week as a previously united front from Indiana elected officials in support of luring the Bears to The Region fractured.
Indiana’s plan calls for more than $1 billion in public funds to be directed for stadium construction. The bonds would be backed by a series of local tax hikes in Lake and Porter counties. But The Indiana Capitol Chronicle reported this week that some Porter County officials are leery about imposing a 1% food-and-beverage tax necessary to help fund the state’s plan.
It exposes a hole in Indiana’s plan: the need to get local buy-in to impose tax hikes.
‘WE’RE AS CLOSE AS ANYBODY’: Pritzker, who opposes public funding for direct stadium construction, jumped on the new hesitation expressed by some Indiana local officials.
“What I think we’ve all learned is what the Indiana legislature chose to do is to foist it all off on the counties and the cities around which the stadium that they want to have moved there would be,” Pritzker said. “And so guess what? They don’t have a tax that’s passed to help pay for it there, they don’t yet have the tolls that would be required to pay for it there.”
Pritzker added that he doesn’t believe Indiana “is a whole heck of a lot closer than we are.”
STATE OF PLAY: Pritzker reiterated his willingness to call a special session to pass legislation. But it’s clear that won’t happen until there’s an agreement in place between all the necessary parties, including the Bears, governor and two legislative chambers.
“I think (the Bears are) looking at both of the bills that passed – the one in the House, the one in the Senate – hoping to put the provisions of each of those together in a form that they think will pass,” Pritzker said. “And then, of course, they need to begin conversations with members of the legislature that they weren’t able to win over before. And again, we’ve been advising and trying to help out wherever we could.”
The Bears declined to comment on Pritzker’s latest comments.
A DATE TO WATCH: The fall veto session isn’t until November. But many state lawmakers will be in Springfield for the Illinois State Fair in mid-August.
Illinois Democrats will gather at the fairgrounds for “Governor’s Day” on August 19 and Republicans will gather on August 20. The night before and day of each event are traditionally filled with Springfield fundraisers hosted by parties, legislators and statewide constitutional officers.
And a state law that bans lawmakers from hosting fundraisers on legislative session days or the day immediately prior to them does not apply to fundraisers scheduled at least 14 days before a special session. So it wouldn’t interfere with the raising of campaign cash.
State Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, told 104.3 The Score that “that’s one day that people are looking at,” though he reiterated that an agreement is needed first.
Again, not suggesting that’s what will happen. But if lawmakers were to return early to the Capitol, it’s the most logical week to do it.
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