Bill Text: IL HR0742 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the owners of the Chicago Bears to move the team to Arlington Park. States the Chicago Bears organization should move to the Arlington Heights location without requesting incentives from local or state government that would go toward stadium construction.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-09 - Rule 19(b) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HR0742 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-HR0742-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Professional sports franchises often relocate to | ||||||
3 | address seating capacity limits, restructure debt, modernize | ||||||
4 | the stadium experience, or to gain full authority over a new | ||||||
5 | stadium; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The Chicago Bears professional football team has | ||||||
7 | expressed a willingness to consider property in the Village of | ||||||
8 | Arlington Heights; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Chicago Bears fans have also expressed an | ||||||
10 | openness towards the team moving, with a recent informal | ||||||
11 | survey of 6,000 people by Patch.com indicating that over 70 | ||||||
12 | percent of correspondents said they would like to see the team | ||||||
13 | move; and
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14 | WHEREAS, The former Arlington Park presents itself as a | ||||||
15 | fresh development opportunity for the Village of Arlington | ||||||
16 | Heights and the Chicago Bears team; it is conveniently | ||||||
17 | situated off a major highway, just a 20-minute drive from | ||||||
18 | O'Hare International Airport, and, crucially, it has its own | ||||||
19 | dedicated stop on the Metra commuter rail line; and
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20 | WHEREAS, The economics of major professional sport leagues | ||||||
21 | have been changing dramatically in recent years; from |
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1 | television and streaming rights to team-sanctioned legalized | ||||||
2 | sports betting, worldwide merchandising deals, and massive | ||||||
3 | media empires, teams have become huge corporate conglomerates | ||||||
4 | with wide-ranging interests far beyond the stadium; and
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5 | WHEREAS, The location of the Chicago Bears team matters | ||||||
6 | much less than their name, which implies that the team is one | ||||||
7 | with Chicago so long as the team keeps its namesake; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Moving to a stadium in Arlington Heights presents | ||||||
9 | an economic opportunity for a top-of-the-line stadium | ||||||
10 | featuring a higher capacity and burgeoning entertainment, | ||||||
11 | restaurant, and retail industry; the Arlington Heights | ||||||
12 | location also provides easier access via the State's roadways | ||||||
13 | and Metra commuter rail lines; therefore, be it
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14 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
15 | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
16 | we urge the owners of the Chicago Bears to move the team to | ||||||
17 | Arlington Park; and be it further
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18 | RESOLVED, That the Chicago Bears organization should move | ||||||
19 | to the Arlington Heights location without requesting | ||||||
20 | incentives from local or state government that would go toward | ||||||
21 | stadium construction; and be it further
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1 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
2 | delivered to the Chicago Bears organization, Chicago Mayor | ||||||
3 | Lori Lightfoot, and Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes.
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