With the Chicago Bears’ bid to purchase Arlington Park, the residents and taxpayers of Arlington Heights, IL and the State of Illinois could be on the hook for corporate welfare subsidies.
The Chicago Bears previously convinced government officials to renovate Soldier Field via a $660 million project financed by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority—whose revenues come from hotel taxes—and a combined $10 million in annual city and state subsidies.
Since 1997, NFL teams have constructed 22 new stadiums, receiving an average of $238 million per stadium in public funding and costing a total of $4.76 billion.
Corporate welfare is commonplace in professional sports, but it is wrong and it shouldn’t happen again.
Lawmakers in the General Assembly, on both sides of the aisle, such as Rep. Joe Sosnowski and Rep. Bob Morgan have put solutions forward that would protect taxpayers from corporate welfare schemes, not only in sports but across all industries in Illinois. These legislative changes would ensure states are creating a level playing field and protecting taxpayers.
Send this letter to your state and local legislators representing Arlington Heights residents and ask them to protect taxpayers and STOP corporate welfare handouts.