SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House has passed a major economic development bill designed to attract large scale investment and support projects such as a possible Chicago Bears stadium, approving the measure by a vote of 78 to 32. The proposal creates long term tax agreements tied to investment levels and includes provisions for local review boards, infrastructure planning, and property tax relief.
State Representative Bradley Fritts supported the bill and said, “The bill itself does quite a few things. It’s a very complex bill, but the thing that I agree with the most is it puts a lot of control back to locals and how it’s done.”
He also said, “There’s a lot of misinformation going around on this, but actually on the Bears project itself, it forces a pool of money, which is divided among all 102 counties, and a new line item is placed on everyone’s property tax bill, actually refunding money to them, and it’s mandated in the legislation. So it’s a property tax relief bill for the people of the 74th district more than it would be an increase.”