Mayor Brandon Johnson is playing fantasy football with our money, and it’s time for him to face our reality.
Fawning over Bears President Kevin Warren at last week’s absurd news conference did nothing to shore up our waning confidence in Johnson’s stewardship. Instead of glib talk about “no new taxes” and “public benefits,” I’d have preferred to see him graciously thank the Bears, then promise to dig deeper into the deal and seek meaningful public input to ensure taxpayers’ best interests are being served. Instead, the mayor left that job to civic groups and the media.
Indeed, it didn’t take long for the Tribune to blow a football field-sized hole in the mayor’s promise, telling us that the true cost to the public of a new Bears stadium would be billions of dollars more over time. Technically, this is not a “new tax”; the long-term financing costs would require significant additional public revenue, money that otherwise could be redirected to some of the city’s most pressing needs. This, on top of an avalanche of details omitted from last week’s dog-and-pony show, points to hidden costs for taxpayers and how badly Johnson was played by the Bears.
Green space for high school team championships, “additional green and open space with access to the lakefront for families and fans on the Museum Campus,” as WBEZ reported, and other amenities Johnson characterized as the “public benefit” he wrested from the Bears? They’re not included even in a phony $4.7 billion budget. So, if we want those amenities, we’ll be adding it to the billions taxpayers would fund.
The projected new revenue from hosting a Super Bowl, major concerts and extended artist “residencies” that Warren promised to help fill city coffers? Only Gov. J.B. Pritzker is telling the truth, saying “(The Bears are) asking to keep all of the revenue from other events that might take place at this stadium. You know, if there’s a Beyoncé concert, they want all of that revenue too, and everything else that might happen there.” When flatly asked by Crain’s whether the Park District could potentially receive less revenue from the new stadium than it currently does at Soldier Field, Karen Murphy, Bears vice president of stadium development, said it’s “too early” to determine.
It’s hard to understand how Johnson could allow the Bears to scoop up the lion’s share of stadium revenue, given his insistence that this will be a “publicly owned” stadium leased to the Bears for private use. That’s because it’ll be publicly owned in name only. This wordplay is too clever by half, aimed at skirting the Lakefront Protection Ordinance’s prohibition on privately owned developments on the lakefront. Friends of the Parks likely won’t stand for this thinly veiled trick, and neither should we.
Related Articles
Editorial: The Bears may stir Chicago’s blood with splashy pitch for a lakefront stadium. We’re not convinced.
The more details we learn, the more we see the city doesn’t seem to have followed any of the four key steps to securing a fair deal for taxpayers.
Slow the roll and resist the urge to govern by bright, shiny object. The urgency is the Bears’, not ours. Set priorities based on the vision that best serves our city, not the team owners. Even if the proposed development may be a good idea, it must be assessed in the context of all of the other needs and priorities for our tax dollars. Take the time to put together a sound deal that benefits taxpayers — or walk away if that can’t be done. Insist on exploration and disclosure of all private funding capacities as well as a public assessment of alternative locations in the city, such as the former Michael Reese site, before considering any public assistance.
Challenge the claims of stadium owners. Rely only on independent research. Countless independent studies show taxpayers do not get a viable return on investments in stadiums. Projections used to justify taking our money have universally proved to be unreliable and consistently inflated. If this proposal is different, tell us why. The Bears touted the independent consultant they hired to document promises of an $8 billion-plus economic impact from an ongoing annual impact of $456 million, creation of 43,000 regional construction jobs and 4,200 permanent jobs. But anyone they hired had the assignment to secure the highest return for the owners, irrespective of the best interest of taxpayers and voters. We need our own truly independent analysis on economic impact, as well as traffic studies and environmental impact assessments. So far, developers’ track record on these matters has been weak. (See the inadequate casino traffic study by Bally’s, the “surprise” environmental concerns related to the proposed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art site and the now-stalled Lincoln Yards development.)
Reject tax extensions because they are tax increases. The Bears slipped this revenue into their pot of private funds, but it clearly belongs in the pot of public contributions because adding 40 years of new debt via the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority is a tax increase. Allocating 2% of the hotel tax to a private business locks up our money for a purpose never identified as a priority by the leadership or by residents. And the reserve fund touted by the Bears? That’s our money, too, and if it still falls short, the city is on the hook.
Don’t lock into anything without meaningful community input. Taxpayers across the city and state will be paying a hefty price for this glitzy gift to the Bears, and we deserve a meaningful role in the conversation. Ask for public input throughout the process and take it seriously by incorporating it into the deliberative decision-making process. The people who live, work and own businesses in the Near South community, especially, have the lived experience to help shape the most successful developments.
It’s not too late to tell the Bears to take a seat while the city focuses on the real work required to serve its residents.
Marj Halperin is an award-winning journalist and former Democratic analyst for WGN-TV and, as a community activist, leads the Chicago neighborhood group One Community Near South.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
