The Chicago Bears could be calling Indiana their new home after Illinois lawmakers failed to pass legislation during the spring session in Springfield that would keep the team here in Illinois.
State Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer says he believes the team belongs in Illinois, but if any tax incentives are to be given to the billion dollar organization then there needs to be some sort of tax incentive for the rest of the tax payers throughout downstate Illinois.
“Ive been a life long Bears fan so I think they absolutely belong in Chicago. If there’s going to be any real property tax discounts for the Bears, I think the people of Illinois also need some type of property tax discount,” he said. “We can’t keep handing that out to billion dollar corporations while our taxes keep going up and up.”
The Murrayville native added that sports is a business and to keep any business of any size in Illinois, we need policy that makes sense. “When Indiana has the type of budget they have with lower taxes, they can throw as much money as they want at it. In my opinion, if we just had reasonable policies we wouldn’t need to throw millions of dollars at the Bears. They would just stay because our policies made sense.”
Gov. JB Pritzker said he would be happy to call a special legislative session if lawmakers could rally around one Bears stadium bill.