Overview
- The Illinois General Assembly adjourned without finalizing a stadium bill after the Senate approved a municipal stadium-authority measure but the House did not take it up on Monday, June 1.
- Senate leaders had shifted from a failed megaprojects/PILOT tax plan to a municipal public-ownership model that would have municipalities in Cook County own a stadium so the privately financed facility could be exempt from property taxes.
- Indiana has already approved a financing framework that would put about $1 billion toward a Hammond stadium and would let the Bears keep stadium revenues, giving Indiana a stronger near-term financial offer.
- The Bears said they will finish evaluating Arlington Heights and Hammond on their previously stated late-spring/early-summer timeline and will announce a decision when ready.
- Because the House adjourned, lawmakers will not routinely return until the fall veto session unless a special session is called, which raises the vote threshold and leaves unresolved trade-offs over tax certainty, infrastructure costs and who would bear long-term fiscal risk.