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* Crain’s…
In an interview, [Senate President Don Harmon] said comments he made earlier this spring urging the two teams to work together were misread as a sign he would bless any deal they jointly pitch. “My overall observation would be that the two are fighting over the same pot of (subsidy) money that neither is entitled to,” Harmon said. “I have yet to hear a compelling argument as to why taxpayer money should be put into the hands of wealthy sports franchises.”
…Adding… As I pointed out in comments, this is not really a walkback. Some reporters simply read too much into what the teams claimed Harmon said. But he was pretty clear way back in February. From Crain’s…
State Senate President Don Harmon specifically has told both teams there is little appetite in the General Assembly to approve separate stadium legislation.
“I’m not planning to referee fights between billion-dollar sports franchises,” Harmon told Crain’s in a statement. “I hope the teams took heed of the governor’s expression of reluctance to use tax dollars to subsidize new stadiums.”
And here is the statement Harmon’s spokesperson gave me…
“I share the governor’s reluctance to spend taxpayer dollars to subsidize private stadiums. I’m not going to referee fights between billion-dollar sports franchises.”
He wasn’t directing them to work out a deal that would then be rubber-stamped.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, May 31, 24 @ 10:38 am
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McCaskey family: So you’re saying there’s a chance?
Comment by Excitable Boy Friday, May 31, 24 @ 10:40 am
That’s a walkback. But good regardless. The most I’m willing to consider in terms of public money is infrastructure dough for a new L stop and street widening if needed depending on the location.
Comment by TJ Friday, May 31, 24 @ 10:45 am
===That’s a walkback===
It is not.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, May 31, 24 @ 10:46 am
From Crain’s in February…
“I’m not planning to referee fights between billion-dollar sports franchises,” Harmon told Crain’s in a statement. “I hope the teams took heed of the governor’s expression of reluctance to use tax dollars to subsidize new stadiums.”
Another Harmon quote in February…
“I share the governor’s reluctance to spend taxpayer dollars to subsidize private stadiums. I’m not going to referee fights between billion-dollar sports franchises.”
https://capitolfax.com/2024/02/28/teams-are-attempting-to-manufacture-momentum-via-the-news-media/
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, May 31, 24 @ 11:07 am
N - Not
O - One
P - Penny
E - Ever
Why should the public pay for a rich person’s toy?
Comment by Huh? Friday, May 31, 24 @ 11:07 am
“Hold up that (bleeping) Cubs (bleep)(banned punctuation) - Patti Blagojevich
Comment by Oklahoma Friday, May 31, 24 @ 11:08 am
It’s hard to “misread” comments that were never made in the first place…
Comment by wildcat12 Friday, May 31, 24 @ 11:22 am
Best thing to come out of the House chaos this spring is that it has pushed Harmon and Pritzker to work even closer together. They are natural allies and it’s about time.
“I hope the teams took heed of the governor’s expression of reluctance to use tax dollars to subsidize new stadiums.”
I’m looking for a lot more of that in the years to come.
Comment by New Day Friday, May 31, 24 @ 11:28 am
We in Arlington Heights are waiting.
Comment by Rahm's Parking Meter Friday, May 31, 24 @ 11:33 am
Other than the fact that the Bears are run by a totally incompetent family I do not understand why people hey have not worked out a deal with Arlington Heights. They claim every day not building costs them money the money they have wasted must already be more than the taxes they complained about. They have the money or equity to build on their own they will never get it done in Chicago
Comment by DuPage Saint Friday, May 31, 24 @ 11:35 am
The Chicago media love covering the stadium issue — and their reader/viewers eat it up. Hence all the parsing of Harmon’s statement — it was an effort to wring news out of something that wasn’t particularly newsworthy.
The Tribune sometimes lists the ten most clicked stories on their site. I noticed over the weekend that the very top viewed story was an innocuous piece about how no stadium action was being taken in the closing days of session. A story about literally nothing happening got more clicks than anything else.
This has the franchises (particularly the Bears) spending far too much time on media spin and not enough energy on actually crafting a workable piece of legislation. Maybe no such piece of legislation exists, but all the “comms” efforts seem to be aggravating folks who really matter, like the governor and senate president.
Comment by TNT Friday, May 31, 24 @ 11:39 am
If the Bears are unwilling to invest in their forever appreciating asset, maybe they should find a buyer who is.
Comment by Pundent Friday, May 31, 24 @ 11:56 am
The billionaires should go ask fellow-billionaire Ricketts how to finance a stadium without taxpayer money.
Comment by Just Me 2 Friday, May 31, 24 @ 11:56 am
== It is not. ==
Fair enough. I was admittedly going off of reporting I saw elsewhere rather than straight from the horse’s mouth.
Comment by TJ Friday, May 31, 24 @ 11:56 am
===I was admittedly going off of reporting I saw elsewhere===
Too many people/reporters wanted this to be a real story and ignored all the warning signs that it was not. And, frankly, it’s still happening.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, May 31, 24 @ 12:00 pm
==The billionaires should go ask fellow-billionaire Ricketts how to finance a stadium without taxpayer money.==
Funny how times change. The Rickets were villians for wanting to change Wrigley to match their vision and I was one who thought they were villians. Now they’re an example to the rest of the city’s owners what these business get when they invest their own money. Sure they asked for government money (never hurts to ask), but they moved on when they saw the clear writing on the wall. Now doing a Rickets is a positive thing.
Comment by ElTacoBandito Friday, May 31, 24 @ 12:20 pm
===The Rickets were villians for wanting to===
You may have forgotten that the Cub owners wanted government subsidies at first and were rebuffed.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, May 31, 24 @ 12:26 pm
And before we get too carried away lauding the Ricketts family, let us not lose sight that Laura Ricketts currently has her hand out looking for public financing for the team she owns, the Red Stars.
Comment by Telly Friday, May 31, 24 @ 1:44 pm
This seems to be an example of a bad trend in journalism, writing their interpretation of what was said instead of actually what was said. The writers should, but probably won’t, clarify if they are reporting or interpreting (unless they have ESP).
Comment by levivotedforjudy Friday, May 31, 24 @ 1:55 pm