MOORE & SZALINSKI’S SUMMARY: With just over 24 hours left in the spring legislative session, several major issues remain in flux. Lawmakers are getting closer to finalizing the budget, the Bears megaproject bill remains a coinflip, hemp and cannabis reform was showing some signs of life, but sources tell us the governor’s housing plan appears unlikely to pass.
BEARS: There was no visible progress on megaprojects legislation that’d clear the way for the Chicago Bears to build a domed stadium in Arlington Heights. The top negotiators in the legislature – Chicago Democrats Rep. Kam Buckner and Sen. Bill Cunningham – met with Gov. JB Pritzker earlier today in what amounted to a status update.
Cunningham’s been trying to piece together a version of the bill that can pass the Senate, where several members of the supermajority Democratic caucus remain opposed. Democrats were expected to discuss the issue in a caucus meeting Saturday evening.
“I’ve always said that I was going to respect their space and time and give them the opportunity to do what they need to do,” Buckner told reporters. “But as you know, the clock is ticking, and so hopefully we’ll have some more solid answers shortly.”
There have been discussions about scaling back the megaprojects bill to limit the program to the Bears’ project in Arlington Heights while continuing negotiations on the statewide deployment of the tool.
Senate Minority Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, whose caucus will likely have to supply votes for a megaprojects bill to get it over the finish line, said a scaled-back version is “the only option at this point.”
“This is too late in the session to do a statewide megaprojects bill where you don’t know what might be going in there,” Curran said.
While that may address concerns about the statewide impact, dropping portions of the bill that benefit Chicago and other parts of the state would give “no incentive” for some members to support the bill, Senate Majority Leader Kim Lightford, D-Maywood, told us.
“There’s no Chicago plan,” Lightford said. “I’ve not heard a Bears plan other than they own the land that they spent $200 million for. But, like, what is their investment? And so it’s just really (like) they’re just here to see what they can get from us. So we’re not comfortable.”
NO BUDGET: As of this writing around 8 p.m. on Saturday, the Fiscal Year 2027 budget has still not surfaced. The exact hold up is still not clear, but on Friday night, we confirmed with sources a handful of new taxes that could be part of the final measure.
One of those taxes would be on revenue from digital ads. But there’s a catch: lawmakers could put it in the budget without factoring in the roughly $700 million in revenue it would be expected to generate because they expect it will be met with legal challenges and may not withstand scrutiny in court.
“There’s been a lot lately that is constitutionally questionable, and so that is something else that clearly they know they’re on dubious grounds with it,” Curran said. “They’re going to test out a legal theory, but you know, we should not be looking for more taxes.”
CANNABIS AND HEMP: Lawmakers are moving closer to passing an omnibus bill addressing various issues in the state’s cannabis and hemp industries.
The latest language was filed as an amendment to Senate Bill 3229. This will allow the bill to potentially move quickly through both chambers by Sunday. It comes just months before a federal ban on intoxicating hemp products takes effect.
The bill, among other provisions, would provide a pathway to legal status for hemp operators, who’d be allowed to sell products that meet the revised federal guidelines. Cannabis possession limits would double and medical customers would be able to purchase products in adult-use dispensaries at a far lower tax rate.
The Senate passed omnibus legislation in 2024, but it stalled in the House amid equity concerns from hemp operators. Lightford said that input from various stakeholders over the past few years “created a really good bill.”
“I think we have a bill that maybe no one loves, but everyone can live with,” Lightford said.
BUILD: Key elements of Gov. JB Pritzker’s Building Up Illinois Developments housing plan appear unlikely to pass amid continued opposition from municipalities over the preemption of local control.
BUILD is one of Pritzker’s top legislative priorities this session. But municipalities have stringently opposed major elements, such the creation of statewide zoning standards that would allow multi-unit housing by right on nearly all lots zoned for residential, and the establishment of statewide timelines for inspections and reviews and the allowance third-party inspectors if municipalities miss deadlines.
OTHER BILLS: Election reforms have been filed in House Bill 1832, sponsored by Cunningham. That bill totals 256 pages. And another closely watched issue – allowing rideshare drivers to unionize – has been filed in House Bill 5090, sponsored by Sen. Ram Villivalam.
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