[Opinion] Bears stadium bill, Illinois budget in the balance as Springfield session winds down

Daily Herald opinion: Cue the countdown: General Assembly yet to tackle Bears legislation or the budget as it barrels toward adjournment

Daily Herald Opinion: We’re down to the final weekend of the Illinois General Assembly’s spring session. Yet there’s still no state budget approval. No Bears megaproject deal. No decision on the governor’s BUILD plan.

Bears stadium bill, Illinois budget in the balance as Springfield session winds down

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois lawmakers were running the hurry-up offense Thursday as the clock winds down on their effort to advance property tax-incentive legislation intended to help the Chicago Bears build a new stadium in Arlington Heights and prevent them from moving to Indiana.That was just one of several legislative footballs lingering well short of the goal line late in Springfield’s drive to the end of the spring session — chief among them, p…

Here’s why the end of the legislative session is so critical to Bears’ stadium talks

Lawmakers in Springfield are working down to the wire on a variety of subjects, but the Chicago Bears’ stadium project is near the top of the list. With Indiana also offering up a proposal to try to lure the Bears across the state line, Illinois officials have been negotiating for months on a deal that would lock in property taxes for the team at a site in suburban Arlington Heights, but they’ve run into myriad obstacles during that process. Now…