Pritzker open to spending on Bears infrastructure, concerns remain about debt

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he is open to state funding of infrastructure for a proposed Chicago Bears stadium project, but an economic accountability analyst says taxpayer dollars could be better spent elsewhere.

Arlington Heights officials say $855 million would be needed from taxpayers for infrastructure at the stadium site. The Bears own 326 acres of land at the site of the former Arlington Park horse-racing track. The team purchased the property for nearly $200 million in 2023.

Pritzker said the state does spend money on infrastructure for businesses.

“We build roads out in front of the factory or the headquarters. We build sewers. We help bring in a substation, whatever it is that’s required for infrastructure, but it’s not an unending expenditure that we will put in,” Pritzker explained.

John Mozena, president of The Center for Economic Accountability, argued against infrastructure spending for the Bears facility. Mozena said stadiums are empty most days.

“Both the stadium and those hundreds of millions of dollars worth of infrastructure will be sitting there not used or deeply underutilized, and that’s money that could be spent on infrastructure that people are actually going to be using every day,” Mozena told The Center Square.

Earlier this week, Pritzker announced a record-high statewide infrastructure spending plan of $50.6 billion over six years.

The governor was asked at an unrelated event Wednesday if the Bears should pay off the loan on Soldier Field’s 2002 renovation, which cost more than $630 million, before he would support any new funding.

“We need to make sure that the taxpayers are not burdened by the debt that was put on in the building of the stadium if we’re then going to go on and support more funding for anything to do with the next stadium,” Pritzker said.

The Bears are also asking state lawmakers to pass legislation for reduced property taxes on the proposed stadium site.

Mozena said it doesn’t make sense.

“There’s no good argument for why some businesses should have to pay their way while others don’t,” Mozena said.

Mozena said Illinois, of all states, should be skeptical about backroom deals between politicians and businesspeople.

Jon Styf contributed to this story.