* Background is here if you need it. Synopsis of Amendment 3 to HB910…
Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Creates the Capital Area Tourism Authority Act. Creates the Capital Area Tourism Authority for the benefit of the general public and the promotion of business, industry, commerce, and tourism in the City of Springfield, Sangamon County, and the State of Illinois. Creates the Capital City Downtown Medical District Act. Creates the Capital City Downtown Medical District Commission. Sets forth the duties and purpose of the Commission. Amends the Property Tax Code. Creates the Megaproject Assessment Freeze and Payment Law within the Code. Provides that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may issue megaproject certificates in connection with projects that satisfy certain minimum investment requirements and other requirements. Provides that property that receives a megaproject certificate from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is eligible for an assessment freeze. Provides that sales of building materials that will be incorporated into a megaproject and that are purchased during the incentive period are eligible for the same building materials exemption available to High Impact Businesses under the Retailers’ Occupation Tax Act. Provides that, to be eligible for megaproject incentives, the company and the local municipality must enter into an incentive agreement. Provides that, in addition to other requirements, the incentive agreement must require the company to pay, or be responsible for the payment of, an annual special payment to the local municipality. Provides that no person who participates personally and substantially in the negotiation of a megaproject agreement on behalf of a local municipality or taxing district may, within a period of one year after the effective date of the agreement, knowingly accept employment or receive compensation or fees from a company that is a party to the agreement. Amends the Illinois State Auditing Act. Provides that the Auditor General shall conduct a compliance audit in accordance with specified provisions of the Statewide Innovation Development and Economy Act. Amends the State Finance Act, the Illinois Municipal Code, the Metro-East Park and Recreation District Act, and the Local Mass Transit District Act. Provides for the transfer of the local sales tax increment to the STAR Bonds Revenue Fund. Amends the Statewide Innovation Development and Economy Act. Creates a New Opportunities for Vacation and Adventure Urban District (NOVA urban district). Sets forth the requirements to be certified as a NOVA urban district. Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Creates a credit for rehabilitation costs for qualified historic properties in the Capital City Downtown Medical District. Creates a capital city jobs tax credit. Repeals the Mid-Illinois Medical District Act. Effective immediately.
* On to some stories. WGN…
The newest tweaks include provisions that outline how the megaprojects bill would give multi-billion-dollar mega developments a property tax freeze for up to 40 years, with an additional special payment needing to be negotiated with local government. Half of that special payment would then be set aside for homeowner property tax relief, with 60% of it going toward property tax rebates for residential homeowners in taxing districts where megaprojects are located, and the other 40% being sent to Illinois’s statewide property tax relief fund.
* Capitol News Illinois…
The core of the bill is a provision that allows the Bears or other “megaproject” developers to negotiate a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, with local taxing bodies.
Developments would qualify for megaproject status with an investment of at least $100 million. Projects at that level could lock in property tax payments for up to 25 years. A second tier, for investments of at least $500 million, would allow a 30-year agreement. A third tier, for investments of at least $1 billion — like the Bears’ proposal — would allow a 40-year agreement. Another five years could be added to projects in each tier if the megaproject site requires environmental remediation. […]
Megaprojects would also qualify for a sales tax exemption on building materials under the state’s existing High Impact Business Program. […]
In a major change from legislation that passed committee in February, 50% of the receipts from the PILOT would go towards property tax relief. Of that, 60% would go to property tax rebates for residential homeowners in taxing districts with a megaproject and 40% would be deposited into the state’s existing property tax relief fund. […]
The bill also calls for the megaproject tool to end after seven years, a sunset provision meant to allow lawmakers to reassess its effectiveness. […]
The bill would also expand the state’s Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR, bond program to make communities in Cook County with more than 70,000 people eligible for the program for projects. STAR bonds could also be used for entertainment developments, increasing the types of projects eligible for the program.
It would establish a New Opportunities for Vacation and Adventure Urban District that would be expected to generate significant tourism, including 2 million annual visitors, $450 million average annual sales following a capital investment of at least $1 billion. Local governments would have the power to create the new economic development districts.
The bill would also create the Capital Area Tourism Authority and Capital City Downtown Medical District to facilitate economic development in two areas of Springfield. STAR bonds could be used in the city if the Sangamon County Board approves a hotel tax that would supply the revenue.
* Tribune…
Buckner’s proposal also calls for freezes on property taxes on redeveloped rail yard land at its pre-development assessed value for 40 years, with special payments substituted in place of taxes on the new value. This provision is intended to make it easier for economic development to occur next to railroad tracks or yards, and House Democrats said it could potentially result in $40 billion in new tax revenues over the 40-year period and increase regional transit ridership by at least 10,000 average daily boardings.
Buckner has said such property needs further remediation for development projects, and he believes certain swaths of land in Chicago would qualify for this under the bill. These include an area of the city known as The 78, which sits south of Roosevelt Road and the downtown area; an area of the South Side at the site of the old Michael Reese Hospital (a site the Bears had reportedly previously considered for a new stadium); and an area just west of Soldier Field known as One Central, which would be a $20 billion mixed-use, transit-oriented development built on about 34 acres. […]
The legislation would also allow for infrastructure costs for a new stadium to be paid off with Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR bonds, which support economic development related to tourism, entertainment or retail projects, but those bonds cannot be used directly for the costs of a stadium. The legislation would also increase the number of STAR bond projects allowed in central Illinois, potentially spurring economic development in Springfield.
* Sun-Times…
Buckner said language was added to exclude data centers from the legislation after lawmakers expressed concerns. […]
The proposal would also bar state and local elected officials from receiving discounted tickets to stadium events connected to a megaproject — and bars all state officials, local officials and their representatives from working for any megaproject certificate holder if they personally and substantially participated in negotiation of the megaproject agreement.
* Daily Herald…
Buckner removed previous legalese that megaproject sites would still be valued at their fair cash value for purposes of calculating a municipality’s general obligation bond limits and other taxing bodies’ limitations on tax extensions.
Fiscal conservatives applauded that deletion, but remained concerned about a potential tax shift, and varying tax rates for taxpayers inside and outside a megaproject area.
“The intent of this is very good. We do need to work on bringing more economic development to the state of Illinois,” said Republican Rep. Dan Ugaste of Geneva. “But this bill is not ready.”
* WICS…
Springfield’s east side may be getting a slice out of the millions of dollars in funding backing the potential expansion of the BOS center.
City council passed an ordinance Tuesday night for a study into a new project—History Across the Tracks—and the feasibility of acquiring state bond funding for Black historic sites in the city.
The Lincoln Colored Home has its place in Springfield and the nation’s history as one of the first ever orphanages for Black children. But today, the property sits fenced off and boarded up.
Bringing these historic sites back into working condition for tourism could bring in economic benefits for the neighborhoods they belong to—helping address what Ward Two Alderman Shawn Gregory said is unbalanced investment in the community. […]
City council approved 75,000 dollars of their general fund for a study to evaluate the feasibility of this project, by connecting it through the same funding sources planned for the BOS expansion.
There’s more, but we’ll get to it another time. The Senate will be making their own changes.
Discuss.
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 9:11 am:
===for up to 40 years===
Good lord. 40 years? This is a policy equivalent of refusing to fund pensions or selling all of a city’s parking to foreign investors.
A general rule in government should probably be to avoid creating financial albatrosses that have the ability to screw the next two or three generations of taxpayers and ‘deals’ that don’t end until almost everyone involved in creating have exceeded their natural life span.
Inflation is a thing. Recently inflation has really been a thing. If you examine CPI over the last forty years a dollar has lost about a third of its buying power. I understand that there may be no stopping this bill from occurring at this point, but the timeline discussed here is horrifically irresponsible. The longer you put these kinds of agreements in place the bigger the risk is to the public.
I didn’t realize any Daleys or Edgars were involved in drafting the legislation.
I was unaware our state government was lead by the kind of folks that think a car loan with an 8 year term is a good way to buy a big truck.
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 9:14 am:
===lost about a third of its buying power===
Pardon, the dollar only has about a third of its buying power. Not lost a third. It only has a third. Never mind the price gouging that is occurring too, just using boring old CPI a 1986 dollar is worth 3 2026 dollars.
- Jerry - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 9:15 am:
Bears Welfare is wrong! I didn’t realize Illinois had money to flush down the toilet for a business (a TV studio) that is open only a few days a year.
- Iron Duke - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 9:23 am:
You can always watch the Hallmark channel Jerry.
- low level - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 9:34 am:
Re: One Central. I guess Bob Dunn didn’t get the message last time. His project is poorly thought out. The reaction from the South Loop neighborhood ought to be interesting.
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 9:41 am:
===Illinois had money to flush down the toilet===
This isn’t a case of where we have the money to flush down the toilet, it is a case of where we are expecting future taxpayers to flush money down the toilet and we expect future elected officials to deal with the problems it creates and the hostility coming from the public.
- Benniefly2 - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 9:51 am:
Forty years seems way too long. Illinois could just let Indiana give them billions in handouts and just keep most of the hotel and restaurant revenue for itself since most out of towners will not likely stay in Northwest Indiana if attending an event in Hammond.
If nothing else, the 70,000 population minimum requirement for STAR districts will at least prevent someone from slapping a 9% tax on Galloping Ghost for random reasons.
- Think Again - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 9:52 am:
=BOS center=
the BOS Center is so bad - the place looks like a Soviet-era convention center - the washrooms and a number of the conference rooms are all down those creepy poorly lit concrete stairs - the internet access is lousy. Hopefully a project can be done with this Megaproject bill if it passes.
- JS Mill - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 10:00 am:
=property tax freeze for up to 40 years, with an additional special payment needing to be negotiated with local government.=
The ILGA fully caved to the Wealthy McCaskeys and stuck it to school and other local governments. Fully.
A TIF only lasts 23 years and these guys didn’t think that was enoug? The PILOT is already something that can be done and happens all the time, they didn’t need legislation to do that. BUt what they did is give ALL of the leverage to the bears and local government will have to go cup in hand to get any additional money. The Bears will just sit back and offer an extremely low offer (obvious given thier history of wanting everything for nothing).
This all make the democrats look like hypocrites with their millionaires tax etc.
Makes my stomach turn.
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 10:13 am:
===Makes my stomach turn. ===
And then the Bears have the audacity to go make a public statement that suggests they aren’t getting what they want.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 10:19 am:
I left a message with the DuPage County tax office indicating that I would like to negotiate a payment in lieu of taxes. Have not heard back from them.
Also- agree with many above that 40 years is way too long a time for a corporate giveaway….
- Charles Edward Cheese - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 10:28 am:
Bears org mentioned they’d like to see some changes in the Senate, do we have insight into what else specifically the Bears have issue with? The current house bill seems highly favorable to their demands, are there core issues Bears didn’t get addressed or are they posturing to see how much more they can squeeze?
- Think Again - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 10:36 am:
=Wealthy McCaskeys and stuck it to school and other local governments. Fully=
The bill establishes a negotiation scheme where the Schools would have a seat at the table - the Google machine came up with this …
Guaranteed Revenue Floor: Championed by the Illinois Federation of Teachers, this ensures school districts (15, 211, and 214) receive at least the same funding as the project’s first year, preventing declines.
Negotiated Payments: The Bears would negotiate fixed payments with local taxing bodies, ensuring school districts—which carry the largest tax burden—a significant voice in the process.
- Lee Elia - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 10:38 am:
What is the status of the infrastructure portion of the deal?
- Joseph M - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 11:10 am:
100% agreed with Candy Dogood’s comment.
40 years (or potentially 45 years) is too long of a guarantee.
What did we learn from the parking meter deal? The lesson should be “no matter how urgent a situation may seem, do not make an agreement to give up revenue-collecting powers for decade. And even if you do, your constituents deserve a thorough, transparent process and enough time to voice concerns.”
I don’t want the Bears to leave either, but this is too complex of a deal for taxpayers to digest before the summer. Let Indiana sell their soul to the McCaskeys if the Bears are that impatient.
- Janet - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 11:39 am:
Make billionaires pay the taxes they owe. I hope this bill fails in the senate.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 11:48 am:
=== His project is poorly thought out===
He radically changed it and has been working with the governor’s office for months to put together a more palatable proposal.
- Jerry - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 12:09 pm:
The Hallmark Channel is open more than 8-12 days a year. That’s more often than The Moochers TV studio.
- Iron Duke - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 12:27 pm:
You make an excellent point Jerry.
How would it be possible to generate enough revenue from 8-12 games a year to pay over 100 million in property tax every year?
Every other city has figured out that isn’t feasible and it looks like a super majority in the Illinois General Assembly agrees.
- H-W - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 12:39 pm:
So assuming this is all said and done, exactly how will the negotiators negotiate? Is it possible they might say, “your payment in lieu of taxes in the first half will be twice what you would pay, if you simply paid taxes?”
Or will the negotiators say, “your current taxes would be $ X. We will start there, and watch your payments in lieu of taxes slowly strip Arlington Heights of the future revenues they would normally receive?”
Or will the negotiators begin with a lessor amount not adjusted for future considerations, and simply say, “What’s it gonna take for you to move to Arlington Heights, now that Chicago is off the table?”
This is a horrible resolution to a proposition that Illinois has no say in other than, “how much of a long-term decline in tax revenues for Chicagoland are we willing to accept on behalf of very large scale corporate wishes?
As an aside to Friendly Bob Adams, if as John Roberts said, “corporations are people, my friend,” then what is good for one “citizen” should be good for all citizens. Let us all negotiate our own “payments in lieu of taxes.” Thanks for the idea. /s
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 12:40 pm:
===”your payment in lieu of taxes in the first half will be twice what you would pay, if you simply paid taxes?” ===
We don’t yet know what the Senate is going to do about the bill.
- Demoralized - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 12:43 pm:
==How would it be possible to generate enough revenue from 8-12 games a year to pay over 100 million in property tax every year?==
The Bears generated more than $600 million in revenue last year. And they are worth $9 billion. Forgive me for not feeling sorry for them.
- Skokie Man - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 12:45 pm:
“Field of Schemes” is an excellent national site that covers public financing of privately-owned stadia. On the bill that just passed, in part:
“So the Bears would still be saving a massive amount of money by paying less in PILOTs than they normally would in property taxes, but some of those PILOTs would now be diverted into a fund to reduce the amount of property taxes that others pay. Except that normally these payments would go to the local school district, so if they instead go to refund other Illinoisans’ property taxes, then either the schools will be left without enough money — something the local teachers union is already worried about — or property taxes in the rest of the district will have to rise to compensate, which kind of defeats the purpose of providing property tax relief.”
More here: https://www.fieldofschemes.com/2026/04/23/24020/buckner-says-bears-tax-break-bill-would-also-cut-illinoisans-property-taxes-by-lowering-them-before-raising-them-let-me-start-over/
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 12:52 pm:
===or property taxes in the rest of the district will have to rise to compensate===
Or they just demand twice as much to make up for the state skim.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 12:52 pm:
…which is why I wouldn’t get too worked up about this provision just yet. We’ll see what the Senate comes up with.
- Keyrock - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 12:58 pm:
It’s time to listen to the economists and tell the McCaskeys to enjoy Indiana.
(And this is coming from a longtime fan who used to see games at Wrigley.)
- Iron Duke - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 1:00 pm:
You don’t have to feel sorry for Bears as they look like they are on track to getting what they need to make the project feasible.
600 million in revenue is not the same as profit. Taxes need to be paid out of profit.
It wasn’t John Roberts who said corporations are people.
It was Mitt Romney.
Of course he was correct.
Taxing corporations ultimately impacts individuals- shareholders, employees and customers, because corporations earnings ultimately flow to people.
In the case of the Bears, it is the fans who will ultimately pay the bill here.
If the property tax was 100 million a year and there were only 12 games a year to generate the revenue to pay the tab-
that is 8.3 million a game or at 70,000 seats- $119 a ticket.
- low level - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 1:18 pm:
==He radically changed it and has been working with the governor’s office for months to put together a more palatable proposal.==
Very well, Rich. I’ll look forward to the community meetings. When he first came up with this he didn’t do so well on that end. I am hopeful there will be more of a collaborative process this time.
- Jerry - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 1:23 pm:
@iron duke: that’s not the State’s problem. It’s George McCaskeys. He should have had the money to pay the taxes BEFORE he bought the land. Now he wants Government Handouts!
- JS Mill - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 1:27 pm:
=a significant voice in the process.=
LOL, the ILGA legislated away any leverage they have.
Bears- we propose a PILOT of $10 million.
Schools- Your facility is worth $5 billion, we think $100 million is fair.
Bears- Nope
Deadlocked. Unless there is a stick over the Bears head, and there isn’t right now, a sentient being knows this provision is a joke.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 1:34 pm:
===Deadlocked===
I don’t think the schools care one way or the other. Pay up or don’t.
- Demoralized - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 1:48 pm:
==because corporations earnings ultimately flow to people==
Uh huh. Sure Jan.
==were only 12 games a year to generate the revenue==
What are you talking about. You act like that stadium is only going to earn revenue for football games. The Bears will own that stadium. There will be all sorts of revenue generating events at that stadium.
- Iron Duke - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 2:04 pm:
How exactly was George supposed to know how much money he needed to pay the property tax before the Bears bought Arlington Park?
The tax bill was 3 million when the Bears acquired the property.
For 2022 the assessor proposed a 16.1 million dollar tax bill.
A settlement was reached between the Bears, school districts and other taxing bodies to reduce the assessment causing the tax bill to go down to 7.8 million.
After the grandstand was torn down, the property was then classified as unimproved- reducing the bill further to 3.6 million, still higher than when the Bears bought the property.
It will remain in that range until construction begins.
The Bears stadium will have zero impact on school enrollment.
When the project if finished, they will most likely get substantially more revenue than they are receiving now, or they wouldn’t be supporting the proposal.
- H-W - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 2:09 pm:
@ Iron Duke
=== It wasn’t John Roberts who said corporations are people. It was Mitt Romney. ===
Thanks for the correction. I knew something was off in my memory. I disagree with your conclusion, but thanks. I often enjoy your posts here.
- Iron Duke - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 2:12 pm:
Take it up with Jerry, those were his numbers.
How many events a year do you think is realistic?
The point is the same, the bill will be paid by the fans who buy the tickets- the people not the corporation.
Jan agrees because she is a shareholder.
- Demoralized - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 2:17 pm:
==The Bears stadium will have zero impact on school enrollment.==
You really aren’t very good at this are you? You cannot possibly know that. There will be all kinds of other development to go along with this stadium which will most certainly bring in more people to the community. To make a blanket statement like that is just absurd.
- Demoralized - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 2:19 pm:
==How exactly was George supposed to know how much money he needed to pay the property tax before the Bears bought Arlington Park?==
I have no idea what my property taxes are going to be if I build a house until after that house is completed and assessed. Difference is I don’t get to negotiate my tax bill with the county before I build my house.
- Sue - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 2:22 pm:
What leverage do the Bears have when the bill is passed and they are locked into Arlington Heights and the school districts won’t agree to their lowball PILOT numbers after all? Or if the local trustees decide they won’t approve their plan for the non-stadium part which, after all, is intended to generate as much profit as possible to offset the stadium costs?
Nominally, none. But I suspect that the village board and the school boards would find themselves compelled by all the unofficial levers of power. Whether it’s getting a talking-to from the governor or top Springfield leadership or more hardball about losing all the grants and pork they’d ordinarily get, or simply being told that each and every one of them would lose their re-election bids with cash infused to challengers, Arlington Heights would likely find that it has much less power than it imagines.
- JS Mill - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 2:24 pm:
= The tax bill was 3 million when the Bears acquired the property.
For 2022 the assessor proposed a 16.1 million dollar tax bill.=
So, either you have chosen to argue like a child or you have no idea how property taxes are determined. Hint- 33 1/3 of fair market value except Cook County and then it is about 20% of FMV and then apply the tax rate.
The Bears said the value was $163 million (or something like that) and we k ow that empirically because that is what they paid for the property. Hence…wait for it…value.
That they demoed the buildings does not matter. That wa their choice. You have to knock’em down before you build something new if you are opening a horse racing track.
Sheesh.
- Demoralized - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 2:42 pm:
==when the bill is passed and they are locked into Arlington Heights==
I don’t think the bill locks them into anything.
- H-W - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 2:49 pm:
=== I don’t think the bill locks them into anything. ===
That is my understanding as well. The bill simply articulates how the process is required to play out by defining a few (not all) parameters for any corporation wishing to take advantage of an alternative approach to taxation.
And thanks Rich for reminding us we now need to see what the Senate does. I was getting ahead of the game by treating this as a done deal.
- Iron Duke - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 3:02 pm:
I didn’t argue anything, I just stated the history of the property taxes by year.
As you well know sports facilities like the United Center and Wrigley Field are assessed much differently than other commercial properties.
So you are arguing the assessor made a colossal blunder and miscalculated the value of the Arlington Park by over 100 million, so the tax bill was only 3 million?
Then the Bears bought it and magically overnight the property was actually worth 197 million so the tax bill should have been gone up 400 % to 16 million?
Of course it has always mattered for tax purposes if a property has improvements on it.
Don’t you think the value of a property is higher with a multimillion dollar building on it vs open land?
Sheesh
- P. - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 3:08 pm:
Yes let’s take revenue committed by the Bears and whatever other parties away from the areas - and schools and taxing districts - impacted by the Bears stadium or by the loss of the Bears stadium - Chicago - and send some of that money to Springfield. Makes total sense.
- Jerry - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 3:16 pm:
You made my point for me Iron Duke. It’s George’s problem. Sell the team. Move to Indiana. Get a loan. It’s not the States problem if you don’t have the cash to expand your business.
- Iron Duke - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 3:26 pm:
Ever try to refrain personal insults and just state your view?
Try it sometime, no wonder you are so Demoralized.
The Pilot program only applies to the stadium, not the potential surrounding development, which could have residential or just commercial.
Why would the school district agree to under assess new residences? Hint- they wouldn’t.
I do know with 100% certainty, no school age kids will be living in the sky boxes of this dome if it ever gets built.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 3:27 pm:
===which could have residential or just commercial===
Residential can’t be in the development.
- Iron Duke - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 3:36 pm:
Thanks for clarifying Rich.
So the argument about an increased burden on the Arlington Heights schools is red herring.
Your talking points are a week old Jerry.
Why sell the team when the General Assembly just passed the bill with a supermajority.
Now let’s march down the field to the Senate and then the Governors office.
Tune in to the NFL draft tonight, you will get an idea of the popularity of the pro football .
There should be over 500,000 fans on site in Pittsburgh tonight and 12-14 million people watching on tv.
- Think Again - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 3:40 pm:
=It wasn’t John Roberts who said corporations are people.It was Mitt Romney=
You’re both off by 100 plus years - Corporate personhood is rooted in the Supreme Court case Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad from 1886.
- Demoralized - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 3:42 pm:
==I do know with 100% certainty, no school age kids will be living in the sky boxes of this dome if it ever gets built.==
Read what I wrote again. I suspect lots of people may move to Arlington Heights for jobs that will result from this massive development project, including new houses and apartments being built. I suspect some of those people will have kids. So, your claim that this project won’t add any kids to the district is absurd. Think about what you are saying maybe just a tad.
- Iron Duke - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 4:49 pm:
So you think there will be a huge wave of residential construction if a domed stadium is built in Arlington Heights and it’s absurd to think otherwise?
Maybe this will happen or maybe not.
That would be great for Arlington Heights if that actually happened.
What is certain is that the local elected government and school board supports the construction of stadium.
Why do you think they don’t know what’s in their best interests?
Massive new residential development would also produce massive new tax revenue.
Seems like a good problem to have.