Full Text of HR0742 102nd General Assembly
HR0742 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Professional sports franchises often relocate to | 3 | | address seating capacity limits, restructure debt, modernize | 4 | | the stadium experience, or to gain full authority over a new | 5 | | stadium; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The Chicago Bears professional football team has | 7 | | expressed a willingness to consider property in the Village of | 8 | | Arlington Heights; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Chicago Bears fans have also expressed an | 10 | | openness towards the team moving, with a recent informal | 11 | | survey of 6,000 people by Patch.com indicating that over 70 | 12 | | percent of correspondents said they would like to see the team | 13 | | move; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, The former Arlington Park presents itself as a | 15 | | fresh development opportunity for the Village of Arlington | 16 | | Heights and the Chicago Bears team; it is conveniently | 17 | | situated off a major highway, just a 20-minute drive from | 18 | | O'Hare International Airport, and, crucially, it has its own | 19 | | dedicated stop on the Metra commuter rail line; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, The economics of major professional sport leagues | 21 | | have been changing dramatically in recent years; from |
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| 1 | | television and streaming rights to team-sanctioned legalized | 2 | | sports betting, worldwide merchandising deals, and massive | 3 | | media empires, teams have become huge corporate conglomerates | 4 | | with wide-ranging interests far beyond the stadium; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The location of the Chicago Bears team matters | 6 | | much less than their name, which implies that the team is one | 7 | | with Chicago so long as the team keeps its namesake; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Moving to a stadium in Arlington Heights presents | 9 | | an economic opportunity for a top-of-the-line stadium | 10 | | featuring a higher capacity and burgeoning entertainment, | 11 | | restaurant, and retail industry; the Arlington Heights | 12 | | location also provides easier access via the State's roadways | 13 | | and Metra commuter rail lines; therefore, be it
| 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 15 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 16 | | we urge the owners of the Chicago Bears to move the team to | 17 | | Arlington Park; and be it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That the Chicago Bears organization should move | 19 | | to the Arlington Heights location without requesting | 20 | | incentives from local or state government that would go toward | 21 | | stadium construction; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 2 | | delivered to the Chicago Bears organization, Chicago Mayor | 3 | | Lori Lightfoot, and Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes.
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