The Bears continue to seek taxpayer money for a new stadium. Illinois officials continue to say tax money won’t be going to pro sports teams.
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch told WTTW News that any hope the Bears might have of elected officials changing their tune after the November election is unrealistic. Welch says that whether it’s before or after the election, the state legislature isn’t going to put any tax money into a stadium for a pro sports team.
“You know, even after the election, I just think it’s, things we have to focus on: the kitchen table issues,” Welch said. “People want to make sure their groceries are affordable, their rent is affordable, you know, that they have a roof over their head. The last thing they want us to be talking about is stadiums for sports teams.”
The Bears are one of three Chicago teams seeking new homes, with Major League Baseball’s Chicago White Sox and National Women’s Soccer League’s Chicago Red Stars also hoping for new stadiums. Welch says his message to all three is that they’re going to have to finance those stadiums with the owners’ money, not the taxpayers’ money.
“As we’ve said to the Bears over and over again, to the White Sox, and also to the Chicago Red Stars, there’s just no appetite to use taxpayer funding to fund stadiums for billionaires,” Welch said.
That’s the message taxpayers are sending around the country, as pro sports teams are increasingly finding that voters aren’t on board with their taxes paying for stadiums.