As the Chicago Bears continue to face massive hurdles in Springfield over plans to build a domed stadium next to Soldier Field, the team announced Monday that it has reached an agreement on property taxes for the 326 acres of land it owns in Arlington Heights , which has failed to plan to build a new stadium in the northwest suburbs.

Team officials said they had agreed to a memorandum of understanding setting out the amount of taxes to be paid on the former Arlington International Racecourse site. Village and local school boards still need to approve the agreement, which could happen next month. While there’s no guarantee the team will build a stadium in Arlington Heights, the deal shifts momentum back toward the suburban location and keeps the team’s options more open than before.

“The Chicago Bears remain focused on investing over $2 billion to build a public enclosed stadium on Chicago’s lakefront while reassessing the feasibility of development in Bronzeville,” Bears officials said in a statement released Monday Team statement. “Nevertheless, we remain significant landowners in Arlington Heights and establishing a framework for potential future development planning, financing and property tax certainty has been a priority since purchasing the property. We continue to have productive discussions with the village and school districts and agree on a framework should we decide to explore potential development.”

Details of the deal were not disclosed Monday. The Bears and the suburban tax districts are in dispute over the value of the Arlington Heights property, which the Cook County Board of Review has pegged at about $125 million. The Bears countered with estimates between $60 million and $71 million and classified the property as vacant residential property, taxed at 10% of market value. Local school officials said the land would be valued at $160 million and would be classified for commercial use, putting it in a 25% tax bracket.

Despite these differences and the team’s focus on building a new stadium in Chicago, the Bears never closed the door on the Arlington Heights site, especially since the lakefront proposal failed due to opposition from state leaders.

Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes called the deal a “significant step.”

“We have had productive discussions with the Bears and the school districts and are confident that we agree on a framework for moving forward on the unresolved tax issues,” Hayes said. “I expect this agreement to be formalized in the near future. It shows a clearer path forward.”

In addition to the site next to Soldier Field and the Arlington Heights property the team purchased last year, another site the Bears are considering is the site once used by Michael Reese Hospital in Bronzeville, near Lake Michigan .

The Bears had previously dismissed the old Michael Reese site as too small, saying the site was also unusable because it was adjacent to the Metra train tracks, which posed a safety risk. All of which gave Hayes reasons why he is optimistic about Arlington Heights.

“If the Bears come back, it will be a much easier path,” Hayes said of the suburban location, adding he hopes progress will be made between the tax authorities and the team in the first half of next year. “We’re on the same sheet of music. All sides are ready to seize the opportunity if the bears return our way. I am hopeful that something could happen in the spring to make a new stadium possible in Arlington Heights.”

After the Bears released their statement, the three local school districts — Community Consolidated School District 15 in Palatine, Township High School District 214 in Arlington Heights and High School District 211 in Palatine — released a joint statement on Monday: “We remain of this believes Arlington Heights continues to represent an incredible opportunity, and we agree with the team on how to create a framework for potential development, financing and property tax certainty in Arlington Heights that works for all parties. We look forward to future discussions.”

The Bears purchased the 326-acre former Arlington Park in 2023 for $197 million and announced plans for a $2 billion enclosed stadium as part of a $5 billion mixed-use project.

The Chicago Bears show renderings of the closed stadium complex in Arlington Heights, but say they would expect public funding for the surrounding entertainment district

But after new team president Kevin Warren took over this year, he said local schools’ proposals for taxes on the site were a deal-breaker and turned the team’s attention back to the city. With the support of Mayor Brandon Johnson, the team proposed earlier this year to allocate $2 billion for a $3.2 billion enclosed public stadium to replace Soldier Field. That $3.2 billion figure does not include the $1.5 billion in publicly funded infrastructure money that the team says would be needed to fully realize its vision of a year-round venue and surrounding park space realize.

Gov. JB Pritzker and legislative leaders have been critical of the idea, saying the state has other priorities than providing large funding to a private company.

Both the lakefront and Arlington Heights plans would require public money, something lawmakers were cool about for both locations. But some lawmakers in the northwest suburban state said the recent developments were encouraging.

Democratic Sen. Mark Walker of Arlington Heights said that despite the team’s agreement with school districts, major financial issues still need to be resolved regarding funding for the project. Team officials said they would need public funding to pay for infrastructure such as new expressway ramps for the Arlington Heights site.

A previous proposal for payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, that would address long-term taxes would require state legislation. But funding concerns could be exacerbated by a projected nearly $3.2 billion hole in the state budget for the next fiscal year that would prevent lawmakers from providing significant tax subsidies. Concerns also include Johnson’s difficulty balancing his proposed $17.3 billion budget, with city councilors voting unanimously earlier this month to move forward with his plan to implement a $300 million property tax increase.

“I think that local municipalities, particularly Arlington Heights, have more flexibility in providing property tax relief than the city of (Chicago) at this point,” Walker said. “But the issues with capital and government funding are still outstanding and … my guess is that the Bears would have to find another source for the large capital.”

State Rep. Mary Beth Canty, who has continued to advocate for the Bears’ move to Arlington Heights, called the memorandum of understanding “a positive step forward.”

“I think this is a great opportunity and I think they could do a lot of good here. They have the opportunity to be really good neighbors,” Canty, a Democrat from Arlington Heights, said of the Bears. “I look forward to hearing what the boards have to say when they discuss the issue at their meetings as I am sure they will be required to do so. But I think everyone is thinking positively and also thinking about what the community needs, what it wants and how we can make those things happen in a way that moves everyone forward.”

The agreement would cover future taxes, but the Bears continue to appeal the team’s 2023 tax bill to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board. The team also demolished the former racetrack stadium to reduce taxes, leaving the site empty.

Suburban school officials have always doubted that taxes were the deciding factor in the team’s decision to play in Arlington Heights, since they offered less than the estimated tax bill of $9 million, a relatively small amount in a multibillion-dollar deal.

The taxes were increased after Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi raised the property’s assessed value to nearly the property’s $197 million purchase price. Ultimately, the appraiser would have to agree to any tax agreement.

Originally published: November 25, 2024 at 2:12 pm CST