Chicago Bears coming close to stadium deal to stay in Illinois: report

The Chicago Bears’ search for a new stadium could be taking another dramatic turn that will result in the team staying in Illinois.Crain’s Chicago Business’ Greg Hinz reported Thursday that the team is close to coming to a deal that would allow them to build a new stadium in Illinois. The news comes as Illinois state lawmakers will return to Springfield next month for the Fall veto session.According to the report, a version of the bill that passed the Illinois Senate in the final hours of the Spring session but didn’t pass the House could be used as a framework for a bill. The bill would allow the team to build on land they own in Arlington Heights or potentially in Chicago. The framework of the Senate’s bill would allow a municipality to set up a stadium authority that would own the stadium but would allow the Bears to not pay property taxes after they built the stadium. The authority would be eligible to collect additional sales tax revenue generated by the project, according to Crai