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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Professional sports franchises often relocate to
3address seating capacity limits, restructure debt, modernize
4the stadium experience, or to gain full authority over a new
5stadium; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Chicago Bears professional football team has
7expressed a willingness to buy property in the Village of
8Arlington Heights; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Chicago Bears fans have also expressed an
10openness toward the team moving, with a recent informal survey
11of 6,000 people by Patch.com indicating that over 70 percent
12of respondents would like to see the team move; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The former Arlington Park property presents
14itself as a fresh development opportunity for the Village of
15Arlington Heights and the Chicago Bears team; it is
16conveniently situated off a major highway, just a
17twenty-minute drive from O'Hare International Airport, and,
18crucially, it has its own dedicated stop on the Metra commuter
19rail line; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The Chicago Bears' current lease payment to the
21Chicago Park District is $6.48 million per year, though the

 

 

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1team only paid $3.1 million in 2020 after fans were not allowed
2to attend games because of the COVID-19 pandemic; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Taxpayers have covered over $430 million of the
4Soldier Field renovation project; this is a figure that will
5balloon substantially before the debt fully matures and is
6paid off in 2032; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The economics of major professional sport leagues
8have been changing dramatically in recent years; from
9television and streaming rights to team-sanctioned legalized
10sports betting, worldwide merchandising deals, and massive
11media empires, teams have become corporate conglomerates with
12wide-ranging interests far beyond the stadium; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The location of the Chicago Bears team matters
14much less than their name, which implies that the team is one
15with Chicago so long as the team keeps its namesake; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Moving to a stadium in Arlington Heights presents
17an economic opportunity for a top-of-the-line stadium
18featuring a higher capacity and burgeoning entertainment,
19restaurant, and retail industry; the Arlington Heights
20location provides easier access via the State's roadways and
21Metra commuter rail lines; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
2HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3we urge the owners of the Chicago Bears organization to reach
4an agreement that all parties see as equitable and beneficial
5to move the team to the former Arlington Park property; and be
6it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That the Chicago Bears organization should move
8to the Arlington Heights location without requesting
9incentives from local or state government; and be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
11delivered to the Chicago Bears organization, Chicago Mayor
12Lori Lightfoot, and Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes.