Former Gov. Pat Quinn: Ask the voters if they want public funding for Bears, White Sox stadiums
CHICAGO — Former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has a simple message for City of Chicago officials when it comes to public funding for new stadiums:
Ask the voters.
Quinn filed paperwork Wednesday at City Hall to try to push the City Council to call for an advisory referendum on the November ballot that would allow voters to decide if public money should be used to fund new stadiums.
The question Quinn wants voters asked on November’s ballot is simple: Should any taxpayer money be used if the Bears and White Sox move forward with their plans for a new stadium?
Quinn’s proposed ordinance will go to the full City Council at its next scheduled meeting on April 17.
Quinn previously tried to get a referendum on the Bears’ renovation project for Soldier Field in the early 2000s but wasn’t successful, and he says taxpayers are still paying the price.
“I think the people of Chicago are sports fans, big-time sports fans,” he said Wednesday. “But we’re also fans of the taxpayer. We’ve got to make sure that everyday people who are living from paycheck to paycheck get a fair shake.”
According to a Sun-Times report, Quinn — who’s already expressed his concerns over taxpayer subsidies funding stadium projects for private owners — was prompted to push for this latest referendum after conducting a poll that showed strong opposition to taxpayer-subsidized stadiums for the Bears and White Sox.
The report says Quinn paid for the statewide poll, in which he asked a a similar question to 448 voters to the one he wants voters to be asked in a November referendum. The poll was conducted earlier this month by Blueprint Polling, a Democratic research firm, according to the report.
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Almost 66% of those surveyed, the report says, oppose taxpayer subsidies, with nearly half of that group calling themselves “strongly opposed.”
With that information, Quinn is using a rule that allows any Chicago citizen to introduce an ordinance, in this case one calling for a referendum on using public money to help build a new home for two professional sports franchises in the city.
Quinn says that with an advisory referendum, according to the Sun-Times report, Mayor Brandon Johnson and city officials could know “what the people of Chicago want.”
“Politicians understand one language: votes at the ballot box,” Quinn said in the report. “That’s what this is all about. It gives people of Chicago a chance at the ballot box … to send a message to the mayor, and frankly to other elected officials, on what the people think is appropriate when it comes to the owners of franchises.
“This is the best way to have open, transparent, participatory government.”
The White Sox have proposed building a new stadium on “The 78,” an undeveloped 62-acre parcel of land in the South Loop so named for its potential to become Chicago’s 78th neighborhood. The project would reportedly also include real estate development on the property.
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Crain’s Chicago Business reported in February that White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is pursuing roughly $1 billion in funding from the city and state for a new ballpark and is confident the team will get it.
The Bears, meanwhile, have had multiple new stadium plans surface.
The franchise initially seemed destined to move to the northwest suburb of Arlington Heights after purchasing Arlington Park, the former home of Arlington International Racecourse, in February 2023 for $197.2 million.
However, disputes about property valuation and the commensurate property tax costs between the Bears and suburban school districts in the area have seemingly halted progress in Arlington Heights and prompted the Bears to turn their attention toward building a new stadium along the lakefront.
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Earlier this month, the Bears said they are prepared to contribute more than $2 billion in private funding to build a publicly-owned domed stadium and park space along the lakefront.
Gov. JB Pritzker has repeatedly said he’s reluctant to support any Bears or White Sox stadium plans that involve significant public funding. State legislators have urged the franchises to work together to secure funding for their new stadiums.
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