The Illinois House passed a massive proposal Wednesday night that could help keep the Chicago Bears in Illinois and create economic development for downtown Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — The Illinois House passed a massive proposal Wednesday night that could help keep the Chicago Bears in Illinois and create economic development for downtown Springfield. Yet, the Monsters of the Midway are not celebrating like it's 1985 because they believe the bill needs more work.

This payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, bill could let companies working on megaprojects have their property taxes frozen for up to 40 years and negotiate an annual smaller payment based on a weighted vote of local taxing bodies. 

Rep. Kam Buckner said the state would use half of the revenue for property tax relief for Illinois families. Sixty percent of that funding would go to the local community with a megaproject and the remaining 40% could be invested in the statewide property tax relief fund that lawmakers have not funded since it was created over five years ago.

Developers would be required to sign a labor agreement and commit to having 20% of contracts provided to minority-owned organizations. The bill would allow megaprojects to be eligible for a major sales tax exemption on construction materials for up to a decade.

House Democrats were able to exclude data centers from the massive plan, and Buckner also included a sunset provision to allow lawmakers to assess the effectiveness of the legislation down the road.

The legislation could also expand STAR bonds, address railyard development and create economic development opportunities for downtown Springfield. The capital city portion of the plan came from two proposals introduced by Sen. Doris Turner (D-Springfield) and Rep. Mike Coffey (R-Springfield).

"Springfield is the front porch of Illinois government," Buckner said. "This bill creates the Capitol Area Tourism Authority to support tourism, hospitality, commerce and development primarily in the 62701 zip code. It also creates the Capitol City Downtown Medical District which is focused on healthcare, education and research." 

Buckner said he's happy some Republicans helped negotiate the economic development plan for Illinois. However, Freedom Caucus members said this will not give relief to central Illinois families.

"If you're big and politically connected, your property taxes are frozen at pre-development values, your construction taxes get waived and your final tax bill gets negotiated behind closed doors," said Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City). "But if you're a homeowner, farmer or small business owner, you pay the full value."

House Bill 910 passed out of the House on a 78-32 vote and now heads to the Senate for further consideration.

The Pritzker administration said the governor has been clear and consistent for years that the Bears should remain in Illinois, and that any legislation needs to protect taxpayers. 

"Throughout the past few months, the governor's office brought team leadership, local officials, and legislative partners to the table to craft a deal around public infrastructure improvements, property taxes fairness and affordability measures," said spokesperson Jillian Kaehler. "Today is an important step, and the governor's office looks forward to working with the Illinois General Assembly to advance a bill that reflects our shared priorities." 

The Chicago Bears released a statement minutes after the Pritzker administration and House leaders celebrated the plan. Although the Bears brass did not give full backing of the measure.

"We welcome the progress made on the House's version of the megaproject bill," the Bears stated. "However, additional amendments are necessary to make the Arlington Heights site feasible for our stadium project. We support Illinois leaders as they determine the path forward to making the essential changes to the megaproject bill aligning on infrastructure funding." 

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