Politics
Johnson Blasts State Lawmakers’ Focus on Bears Proposal as ‘Mismatch’ With What People ‘Are Most Concerned About’
Video: WTTW News senior reporter Heather Cherone discusses Mayor Brandon Johnson’s trip to Springfield on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. Note: The article below was published Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (Produced by Heather Cherone and Andrew Montequin)
State lawmakers should be focused on making sure cities and towns, including Chicago, can fund essential services while making life more affordable for residents — not crafting a plan to give the Chicago Bears a property tax break on a stadium in Arlington Heights, Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday.
Johnson is scheduled to travel to Springfield on Wednesday with other members of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus to turn up the heat on lawmakers weighing Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposal to cut the share of income tax revenue the state sends to local governments.
Chicago stands to lose $12.7 million if the governor’s proposal becomes law, Johnson said.
With the clock ticking on the Illinois’ General Assembly’s spring session, Johnson told reporters at a City Hall news conference that he would once again press lawmakers to give the Chicago City Council more authority to raise taxes.
Chicago needs the ability to generate tax revenue from what Johnson called “progressive” sources “to break the cycle of budgets which have again and again been balanced on the backs of working people,” the mayor said.
Johnson appeared frustrated that much of lawmakers’ time and attention has been focused on crafting a bill designed to seal the deal for a new domed stadium for the Chicago Bears in Arlington Heights while deciding not to give voters a chance in November to impose a 3% surtax on Illinois residents earning $1 million or more per year.
That proposal would allow firms building massive developments, including the Bears, to negotiate discounted payments with local government agencies and avoid paying their full property tax bill.
While some of those payments would be used to create a relief fund for property owners struggling to pay their tax bills, most Illinois residents would see less than $1.50 in relief, according to Pritzker’s office.
“There is a mismatch here in terms of what the people of Chicago and Illinois are most concerned about and how government is responding and reacting,” Johnson said. “The type of tax structure that they would set up for large corporations and billionaires without a clear pathway to provide certainty as well as equity for everyday working people, I believe that’s a mismatch there.”
The best place for the Chicago Bears remains Soldier Field, said Johnson, who fully embraced the Bears’ 2024 vision for a reimagined Museum Campus and endorsed the team’s call for taxpayers to pick up approximately $2.4 billion of the total $4.75 billion cost of the project.
Since then, the Bears, an organization worth $8.9 billion, refocused their efforts on Arlington Heights before exploring a move to Indiana while pressing Illinois lawmakers to smooth the team’s path out of the city it has always called home.
If the so-called megaprojects bill is to make it out of the General Assembly and to Pritzker’s desk, it will need the support of lawmakers from Chicago.
“I don’t know why any Chicago legislator would vote for anything that doesn’t benefit the people that they represent,” said Johnson, before hinting that he may propose a new home for the Bears within the city limits.
Johnson was similarly cagey when pressed by reporters on specifically what kind of taxing authority he would like state lawmakers to give to city officials to generate what he calls “progressive” revenue, beyond the digital ad tax.
That proposal would force firms that market their product to Illinois viewers to pay a portion to the state.
“Targeted advertising has enabled these companies to reap millions in profits, so it’s only fair that they pitch in to support the well-being of Chicagoans and every Illinoisan,” Johnson said.
Maryland lawmakers imposed a similar tax, which is the subject of a court fight.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
