THE ILLINOIZE: Monday Free for All...Hidden costs in Bears stadium proposal...School enrollment decreases again...Proft faces the music
April 29, 2024
Good morning, Illinois.
The circus comes back to Springfield this week and you know what that means…a full week of breathless Chicago Bears stadium coverage!
Just a reminder for paid subscribers…we had a glitch with Stripe last year when we changed prices, so many of you are technically under a “gift” subscription right now. You may have gotten an e-mail about it expiring, so you’ll need to resubscribe. Drop me a note if you have any questions. We’re so thankful for your support.
The House and Senate are back tomorrow. Governor Pritzker is handing out IDOT Environmental and Transportation Efficiency awards on the south side at noon.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR MONDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets, because good journalism isn’t free)
True public cost of Bears stadium would be billions more over time (Chicago Tribune)
In their effort to persuade politicians and the public that government support for a new domed stadium development on the city’s lakefront would be a sound investment, the Chicago Bears repeatedly tried to stress that taxpayers would not carry an overwhelming weight of the costs.
Team officials said during their public unveiling Wednesday the Bears would pledge $2.3 billion in private money while asking the state agency charged with stadium development projects to borrow less than half of that — $900 million — to build a long-sought, year-round indoor replacement for century-old Soldier Field.
In addition to the $900 million in borrowing, the Bears want the state’s stadium agency, the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, to refinance about $430 million in existing debt for previous projects and take out about $160 million more to set up as a so-called liquidity fund to cushion the city of Chicago from future shortfalls in revenue from a 2% city hotel tax that’s supposed to cover the cost of the borrowing.
Counting interest and other long-term costs, the proposed new borrowing would tally up to at least $4.8 billion over four decades, said Frank Bilecki, ISFA’s CEO.
In addition, the Bears are seeking up to $1.5 billion in infrastructure money, not counting the debt the public will incur, that the team says would be needed to fully realize its vision for a year-round venue and surrounding park space that Mayor Brandon Johnson said Wednesday would be “the crown jewel of the city of Chicago.”
Although some costs would be offset by interest earned on the money parked in the liquidity fund, according to a financial expert familiar with the team’s plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the proposal in detail, the total price tag of the proposed borrowing is just one of many issues the Bears must tackle.
They have pledged overt transparency along the way.
Related: Bears stadium costs? Add another $1.2 billion (Chicago Sun-Times)
‘A different philosophy’: Bears’ original goal to own stadium shifts with latest public-private plans (Daily Herald)
Bears President Kevin Warren: 'I'm not going to think negatively' about stadium obstacles (Chicago Sun-Times)
Breaking down the politics at play in Bears' stadium plan (Bloomington Pantagraph)
Mayor Brandon Johnson defends his progressive credentials after supporting the Bears’ new stadium (WBEZ)
Editorial: With Bears stadium plans, Springfield should just slam on the brakes (Chicago Sun-Times)
Editorial: Bear down on the details, Chicago Bears (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Editorial: Speaking of ‘Plan B’ (Daily Herald)
Opinion: The Bears, in their infinite generosity, draw attention from South Side mess (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Opinion: When crunching stadium numbers, look past initial construction costs (Shaw Media)
Illinois public schools see another year of enrollment declines (Daily Herald)
Enrollment at Illinois public schools this year dropped by nearly 10,000 students from the previous year.
That includes 1,787 fewer students at 104 suburban public school districts in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties, according to fall enrollment figures released by the Illinois State Board of Education last week.
It continues a trend that has seen enrollment drop by nearly 200,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade statewide over the past decade. That represents a 9.8% decline since the 2015 school year. Among the 104 suburban school districts, enrollment is down 6.9% during the same time frame, records show.
The enrollment decline this year wasn’t as sharp as it has been in recent years, particularly in the 2020-2021 school year marked by COVID-19 pandemic uncertainty when public schools reported more than 45,500 fewer students.
All told, the fall enrollment figures released by ISBE last week showed the statewide public school head count at 1,766,547 students this year, down from 1,775,941 in 2023. The same snapshot in 2015 showed 1,959,250 students enrolled across Illinois public schools.
Illinois Elections Board to hear case on Dan Proft's PAC (Crain’s Chicago Business)
More than a year after the Illinois State Board of Elections began its probe of right-wing talk radio host Dan Proft’s super PAC, the board will hold a hearing to determine whether the independent expenditure group colluded with Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey in the 2022 election.
On April 29, hearing officer Jim Tenuto will examine the complaint against Proft, Bailey and the People Who Play By the Rules PAC. Democratic Party of Illinois Executive Director Ben Hardin filed the complaint, which the board agreed to hear last year.
Proft, now a Florida resident who vowed to Crain’s that he would never live in Chicago again “unless the political leadership changes,” is expected to appear in person at the Cook County Building next week.
Hardin alleges that the millions of dollars funneled into Proft’s PAC to oppose Gov. J.B. Pritzker should be considered illegal, in-kind contributions to Bailey’s campaign since the two parties coordinated. Hardin’s team pointed to Proft’s radio show, where Bailey was a frequent guest in the months leading up to the 2022 election and where the two exchanged ideas that later ended up in the PAC’s advertisements, according to the 2023 hearing officer report.
The complainant said “the idea that anything said in a public forum is off limits for coordination would frustrate the entire purpose of having a coordination standard,” according to the report. “You would end up in a place where candidates and (independent expenditure) committees would be completely free to coordinate as long as they stand up on a stage and they agree on an ad strategy in front of a crowd, which (the complainant says) just doesn't make sense.”
Both Bailey and Proft should be found in violation of contribution limits, the complainant said.
TOP STORIES LAST WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Illinois Republicans grapple with mail voting amid mixed signals from Trump — 'We have to adapt' (Chicago Sun-Times)
Immigrant advocates tout new report showing benefits of state-funded health plans (Capitol News Illinois)
Pritzker spending boost to fight homelessness includes targeting racial disparities (Chicago Sun-Times)
Watchdog calls for abolishing the CTA (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Cook County Democratic leaders pick Monica Gordon to run for Cook County Clerk (WBEZ)
Skokie Republican to challenge Schakowsky for U.S. House seat (Daily Herald) [note: this is a D+41 district)
Johnson eyes legalizing video gaming in Chicago (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Opinion: Time for Illinois to pass a sensible Tier 2 pensions fix (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Climate change demands global solutions, not local lawsuits (Chicago Sun-Times)
Opinion: The value of traveling to the state Capitol for small business advocates (Daily Herald)
McClure: Victims of domestic violence deserve better protection in Illinois (Chicago Tribune)
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