Following the latest developments concerning the Chicago Bears, Megaprojects and the unfinished work from the recently concluded spring legislative session, State Representative Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore), the Illinois House Republican Conference Chairman, released the following statement:
“The largest single private investment opportunity in Illinois history is on the table. A $3-to-$5 billion stadium and entertainment district. Thousands of construction jobs; a generational anchor for the Northwest suburbs. And right now, while Indiana moves with discipline, Illinois is busy explaining why it’s the other guy’s fault.
“Enough.
“I’m not interested in who fumbled which press conference, who showed up at the Capitol at midnight on May 31, or who said what about whom on a hot mic. Hoosiers don’t care about our scoreboard, and neither do the taxpayers in Arlington Heights, DeKalb, Rockford, or anywhere else in this state. They care whether their elected officials can do the work.
“So, let me say plainly what the work looks like.
“One, this is not a binary choice between economic development and taxpayer protection. It is a requirement to deliver both. I have said since HB 910 was first amended that I am a yes on megaproject framework legislation that protects property taxpayers, and a no on any version that lets surrounding homeowners and small businesses subsidize a private development through the back door of a frozen assessment paired with a phantom valuation. That is the central technical problem, and it is solvable.
“Two, any framework that emerges from a special session should meet a basic set of taxpayer guardrails: a meaningful minimum assessed value floor tied to investment; a true PTELL fix so taxing bodies cannot levy against value they aren’t actually collecting; a hard floor on annual special payments that doesn’t disappear for the biggest projects; a review board governance structure that doesn’t hand a single taxing category the keys; an independent fiscal impact study before any agreement is executed; and an explicit prohibition on the suite-and-skybox arrangements for elected and appointed officials that have embarrassed Kansas and Washington, D.C.
“Three, the Republican caucus is ready to be in the room. My colleagues, Rep. Dan Ugaste and Rep. Martin McLaughlin, have each put serious frameworks on the table. Rep. John Cabello asked weeks ago that House Republicans be included in negotiations. That request still stands. We are not the obstacle. We are part of the coalition that gets this across the goal line — but only if the negotiations are real, not performative.
“Four, the Governor has said he is open to a special session. I take him at his word. House Republicans should be at that table from the first meeting, not only the last. If the Governor, Senate President, and Speaker can convene a working group this month with House and Senate Republicans included on the front end, I am confident we can deliver a framework that protects taxpayers and keeps this project and this team in Illinois.
“Indiana didn’t pass its package by accident. They passed it by doing the work.
“It’s time we did ours.”