➡ The Chicago Bears are one step closer to building a new stadium in Illinois after the state’s House passed the Mega Project bill. However, the team says the bill still needs work. The bill allows the Bears to negotiate a payment in lieu of traditional property taxes. Despite this progress, there are still hurdles to overcome and competition from Indiana, which has already offered the Bears an attractive deal.
➡ The Chicago Bears are planning to move to Arlington Heights, but this requires changes to be made in the Senate and a second vote in the House. This process can take a long time due to the scale of the project. There are concerns about the lack of a regional plan for the infrastructure and the impact on taxpayers, but Mayor Seneca believes more commercial development will stabilize the tax base. There are also ongoing discussions about betting on the outcome.

One of my favorite subjects to cover. Yeah, that is. That’s high school crap. No, I’m not gonna cover the David conversation because we covered it on After Hours. We argued about that all last night. It was a great show, by the way. Lawmakers. The Chicago Bears push, or the Chicago Bears stadium push, just cleared a major hurdle in the Illinois House. But the final plate is still ahead. Tonight, the Bears now weighing in. The team says this bill still needs work. There are 78 voting yes, 32 voting no. Illinois is one step closer to a deal after the Illinois House passed the so-called Mega Project bill, a key piece in keeping the Chicago Bears in the state.

It comes after the bill’s House sponsor, Cam Buckner, pushed through new amendments to lock in support. This bill says Illinois is not going to sit back and watch other states build the future while we argue over yesterday’s tools. And this bill gives us the chance to compete and not compete recklessly, not compete desperately. In the lead up to the full House vote, some leaders made it clear they don’t believe this bill is ready. Here’s what happens. Local governments, they still have to fund schools. They still have to fund police and fire.

They have to pay their bills. We already have a property tax crisis in this state. This bill pours gasoline on it. The Bears bought hundreds of acres of land in Arlington Heights more than three years ago with the plan to build a multi-billion dollar new stadium. Under the Mega Projects bill, the Bears or any other Mega Project developer wouldn’t pay traditional property taxes. Instead, they’d work out a deal with local leaders to make what’s called a payment in lieu of taxes or pilot. Then by law, about half of that money would have to go back into property tax relief for homeowners.

The Bears saying tonight, quote, we welcome the progress made on the House’s version of the Mega Project bill. However, additional amendments are necessary to make the Arlington Heights site feasible for our stadium project. We support Illinois leaders as they determine the path forward to making the essential changes to the Mega Project bill and aligning on infrastructure funding. As the bill heads to the Senate, lawmakers here face a strong challenge from Indiana, which already passed legislation, including an incentive deal to entice the Bears to move across state lines. It’s a very strong deal in Indiana.

The site is suboptimal. Arlington Heights is a more optimal site, but the problem with Arlington Heights is there is no deal there. Let me tell you about I know when somebody is lying. I know when somebody is lying. Dog said the Arlington Heights site is the most optimal site. I know a lie when I hear it. I’ve watched videos of people make the trek to Arlington Heights and people make the trek over to Hammond, Indiana to see what the trek would be like, all of that stuff. Guess what the most optimal site would have been? The most optimal site would have been Chicago.

But I blame every single alderman and council member. I blame every person that is in a legislative position in Chicago. I blame the people of Chicago for voting in the people in Chicago that are your legislators, are your city council members, are your alderman, and I blame the mayor. I blame JB Pritzker. I blame every last one of these people. Do y’all know that this deal that Illinois is trying to put together has taken three years, three years for them to get to the point where they’re able to put together a proposal of what a deal would look like to keep the Bears in Illinois, not Chicago.

Remember that. Chicago was off the table. All right. Chicago is, for those of you that may not be familiar, there will be no more Chicago Bears and see they’re going to be the Arlington Hype Bears with a Chicago name on it, or it’s going to be the Hammond Bears, the Gary Bears, the Gay Bears, whatever you want to talk about, the Indiana Bears. I like to call them the Gary Bears, the Gay Bears, because now they’re going to be over in Indiana, and they probably should have been in Gary, Indiana, but they’re choosing Hammond, Indiana, but Indiana put together a deal.

It took them three years to put together some form of a deal, and they’re moving hastily now. But guess what Indiana already did? They did it in three months. Three months. Three. What it took, Illinois, this is the state now, this ain’t even a city no more. What it took Illinois to do in three years, Indiana did it in three months. They deal been on the table for more than six months already. They’ve been chilling. They just kicking it, sipping wine, smoking trees. Yeah, man. Hey, Chicago Bears, you see what they got going over there in Illinois? Yeah.

It’s crazy what they got going over there in Illinois. I’m just letting them embarrass themselves, but I mean, you know what you can keep chilling with them. We know what we do, bro. And you know what the Chicago Bears said? The additional amendments are necessary to make Arlington Heights site feasible for our stadium project, but you guys haven’t done enough. You guys haven’t done enough. I know Stephen A. Smith going crazy. I’m about to DM him in a minute. I’m about to DM Stephen A. Smith in a minute on his nicks. As soon as I get off this live stream, actually, I’m going to text him.

I ain’t even going to DM him. I might DM him. DM is less formal. It’s like texting and calling somebody is like, hey, fam, I need to get in touch with you right now. So I’m going to just send him a DM. Hey, Stephen A. This is what happened, which I told you. First round exit nicks. We’re going to talk about that later. Don’t worry about it. We’ll get there. So now, listen, the Bears are gone out of here. The Bears are gone. This dude look like Trump, don’t he? Somebody said he was a Teemo Trump in the chat.

Is that the look that he going for? I didn’t even realize it to somebody in the chat just said it. Shout out to Love Dee Williams. Yeah, man. No, no, no, no. We don’t roll up over here in Indiana. We only do pre-rolls over here. You know what I’m saying? They over there rolling up over there as a guy. We don’t do pre-rolls over here in Indiana. You know what I’m saying? I mean, we don’t do roll up. You know what I’m saying? They still breaking a stuff down. They still using grinders over there.

Man, we just get pre-rolls. All we want to do is get straight to it. We’re not wasting no time. They do pre-rolls in Indiana and Illinois. Y’all still got to go do the grinder. You still haggling over prices. You know what I’m saying? You still trying to get you? Man, get on out of here with that, bro. Get out of here with that. But the problem with Arlington Heights is there is no deal there that the Bears can utilize. Tonight’s State Representative Mary Beth Canty, who represents Arlington Heights, applauded the passage of the bill.

Governor J.B. All right, you think the Bears is going to stay in Chicago? I’ll take that bet. I’ll take that bet. For anybody that thinks that the Bears are staying in Chicago, I take that 10 to 1. I take it 20 to 1. Whatever you put up, I’ll take 20 to 1. I’ll bet my 20,000 against your 1,000. The Pritzker’s office also saying in a statement, this marks an important step and that any quote legislation needs to protect taxpayers. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears are one step closer to building a domed stadium in Arlington Heights, but most agree at this point, it’s really a baby step with still a lot of hurdles to overcome.

Our political reporter, Mary Ann Ahern, is here to break down what the Illinois House just agreed to, why the Bears, though, say it’s still not enough. And Mary Ann, we’re asking where do we go from here? It has taken… If you’re betting that the Bears is going to stay in Chicago, I’ll take it 20 to 1 all day long. Three years, Stefan, for this first vote on the House floor. And while now it will be up to the state Senate to consider the project next, there are already worries that getting that final deal, the touchdown, it will take many more weeks.

This bill… Oh, you’re a gambler. I’m going to make it in Tyson for you. I know you’re a gambler. Yeah, I know you’re a gambler. I want my money. I want my money. I want my money. I want my money. Absolutely. Anybody that’s betting that the Chicago Bears stays in Chicago, I’ll give you odds like you’ve never seen before. And I want my money. I want my money. Immediately. Right after the announcement, I want my money. We’ve been looking for it for a long time. The Illinois House, with a vote of 78 to 32, agreed on the megaprojects bill that lays the groundwork for the Bears to move to Arlington Heights.

However, even the House sponsor, Cam Buckner, knows changes will be made in the Senate and will require a second vote back in the House. I know three years sounds like an ordinary amount of time, but the truth of the matter is that when it comes to megaprojects and stadium deals, they take a very long time. The Chicago Bears say they welcome the progress, but also note additional amendments are necessary. Likewise, Governor Pritzker calls it an important… Yeah, I got them in a chokehold right now. Hey, I got the gamblers in a chokehold right now.

Yes, I do. I mean, it’s a chance. You know what I’m saying? You want to take a chance on that? I’m with it. If you with it. Hey, man. Hey, y’all want in on this? I mean, what’s the worst we can lose? You know what I’m saying? In order to make that 20 to one, nigga, what we going to get 20 to one from? I got the, I got the, I got the fiends, the casino fiends in a chokehold in the chat right now. They are on 10. Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

If he said five to one, I might’ve passed. He said 20 to one. I don’t know why we could walk away from this. Worst case scenario, we lose, but what happened if we win though? I activated all kind of, if you, if you had gave up and you banned yourself from the casino, I just, I reactivated you later. When he say 20 to one, I don’t know if I can pass up on that. Well, that’s the, I don’t know. Maybe he got some information. I don’t know, but we need to go in and make that habit.

What you talking about big doll? Stop. Arlington Heights says it’s village leaders remain confident. The Illinois Federation of Teachers with Stacey Davis Gates as its leader says I’m listening. I’m dead serious. Whatever y’all want to do, let’s talk about it and we’ll get there. Protect school funding. Rolling Meadows is right next door and will be impacted. Rolling Meadows mayor is Laura Seneca. There currently is no plan for infrastructure for the region. Thing offset just DME. I’ll take that bit. Did offset DME? I got to look at it. Would you say 21? I’ll take that bet.

I’ll take that bet all day. I don’t care what it is. I’ll take the bet. I don’t care what it is, what it is. 21, I’ll take that bet. Offset about the DME right now, right after this live stream. Hey, big dog, what do you want to bet? That they saying that I’m betting the Chicago Bears say in there. Yeah, I’ll take that. There still is not a regional response to the demand that any mega project would make. The state would lock in these agreements depending on the investment. In the case of the Bears, it’s a 40 year deal.

That has taxpayer watchdog groups concerned. Mayor Seneca disagrees. The more commercial development that you have, the more stable your tax base is going to be. You’re confident it’s going to happen. I am always happy. Well, the property tax relief is just one of the big hang ups in the state. Older white women are built different and I don’t mean that in a positive way. I mean that in a negative way. Hey, slice it, bro. You ain’t lying. I’m not a gambler over here trying to figure out much I can afford to lose. [tr:trw].

See more of The Millionaire Morning Show w/ Anton Daniels on their Public Channel and the MPN The Millionaire Morning Show w/ Anton Daniels channel.