* IFT last week…

Today the Illinois Federation of Teachers released a “Mega Project, Mega Loss” Calculator.

At a time when the state owes its students $6 billion from Pre-K to PhD and the Governor’s withholding of promised but not delivered funds under the evidence-based formula is pushing districts into unnecessary deficits that harm school children’s educational experience, the Illinois Federation of Teachers is urging legislators to choose development models that do not reduce revenue for schools and public services.

Visitors can use the interactive online tool to select a mega project and their location and calculate how much money a town and its schools would receive based on current rates and how much they are set to lose if the statewide tax code rewrite dubbed “mega projects” were to go into effect.

Intended for any Illinois resident, school board member, superintendent, parent, or educator, the site provides examples such as an Amazon warehouse, car battery plant, new corporate headquarters, or the McCaskey’s stadium for the Bears.

In the case of the McCaskey’s stadium, if it were to move to Arlington Heights, for example, the local school district would receive $5,424,468,420 less over the course of 40 years because of the mega project bill. Downstate, school districts where rail projects, car factories, and warehouses would likely qualify would see similar losses.

The calculator is here.

* I asked the governor’s office for a response…

The IFT is asking people to believe that a vacant property is somehow a better long-term deal for schools districts than a major redevelopment project bringing new jobs, new investment, and new revenue that would otherwise not be there for school districts. That’s a pretty tough sell — especially while throwing around massive numbers without showing their work. More importantly, Governor Pritzker has been one of the strongest champions for public education in Illinois, delivering record investments in schools year after year. Every dollar appropriated for Evidence-Based Funding has gone directly to Illinois schools, with annual EBF funding increasing by over $2 billion under this administration. The Governor will continue fighting to strengthen public education while also supporting the kind of economic development policies that create jobs, grow communities, and expand opportunity across Illinois.

Additional Background:

• Since Governor Pritzker took office, with the FY27 proposed level, annual EBF funding will have increased by $2.4 billion (a 35% increase) to $9.2 billion
• IFT’s calculator appears to assume developments would move forward at full scale and fully taxed for decades regardless of whether long-term financing certainty exists to make projects economically viable.
• The more realistic comparison is not “full taxes forever” versus PILOT Mega bill— it is whether projects move forward at all vs. sites remaining vacant, deteriorating, or underutilized for years.
• PILOT is a tool already utilized by 35 states today.
• Illinois’ EBF formula already includes mechanisms specifically designed to account for fluctuations in local property values, including three-year EAV averaging, tax cap adjustments, and additional safeguards designed to smooth impacts over time.
• The Bears currently pay $0 in property taxes today under the current set up at Soldier Field

That third point is the best one, IMHO.