Corporate welfare is a curse, not a blessing, and Arlington Heights residents need to be wary of unrealistic economic claims to justify taxpayer subsidies for a new stadium for the Chicago Bears.
While such deals are almost always billed as a “transformational opportunity” for communities, the evidence suggests a more depressing reality.
Over and over, stadium deals have turned sour for local taxpayers.
Just ask the residents of Bridgeview, who saw their property taxes nearly triple and the bond rating go from AAA to junk in less than 10 years for a stadium built for the Chicago Fire.
Remember the residents in Hoffman Estates, who now pay more for stadium expenses than they do for road maintenance after taxpayers had to fully assume a loan the original developer defaulted on.
Look no further than Soldier Field, where the Chicago Bears got major upgrades to the stadium financed by taxpayers. Just the bond payments on Soldier Field cost $49.4 million per year and will eventually balloon to $86.9 million in 2032. But the Bears pay only $6.5 million per year in rent.
Seemingly, the only non-horror story when it comes to professional sports stadiums in Illinois is the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field. Not surprisingly, the more than $700 million in upgrades to the stadium and surrounding areas were privately financed, and they pay property taxes to fund the essential public services Chicagoans need.
Stadium subsidies are a horrifically bad deal for taxpayers. And that’s not even taking into account that none of the occupants of three publicly financed facilities cited above pay property taxes to fund essential public services and our schools.
Lobbyists will tell politicians this time will be different. Rosy predictions will be made, but just pick up a local newspaper on a regular basis and Illinoisans can regularly recount all of the false hope and broken promises.
Study after study after study after study has shown that “the vast majority of peer-reviewed academic research finds that stadiums actually don’t contribute to economic growth, nor do they create measurable benefits in the local community.”
How many times do corporate welfare projects have to fail before taxpayers and policy makers finally stand up and say no more?
The number one vehicle for corporate welfare subsidies in Illinois is tax increment financing districts. Across the state, nearly $2 billion per year is collected in property taxes to fund the so-called economic development and job creation program. But local evidence shows TIF districts actually do the opposite.
A study presented at the 2019 Property Tax Task Force convened by the General Assembly showed that communities using TIF districts in Chicagoland have a decrease in employment across all sectors and see a decrease in the number of establishments relative to those municipalities that did not use TIF.
A study looking at Chicago metropolitan area TIFs by professors Richard Dye and David Merriman published in the Journal of Urban Economics showed “cities that adopt TIF grow more slowly than those that do not.”
Instead of pressing forward with a deal for a Bears stadium at Arlington Park, the village should instead enact a new ordinance to put an end, once and for all, to the economically destructive and corrupt policy of corporate welfare.
Supporting the ordinance makes it more likely that reforms will blossom on the state level.
A proposal from state Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, HB 211 would prevent municipalities in Illinois from poaching companies from other parts of the state using corporate welfare incentives. From state Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Highwood, HB 145 would initiate an interstate compact that would do the same for every state that sigs on. And from state Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, HB 4075 would end the $6.5 billion tax giveaway for the One Central mega-development.
Illinois taxpayers have had enough punishment. But Arlington Heights residents don’t have to accept the same fate. They have a legitimate path to victory in preventing another bad corporate welfare deal.
We can’t wait until a major subsidy package is proposed in the 11th hour and rushed through like the One Central deal snuck into the state budget with no one noticing. By adopting the anti-corporate welfare ordinance, Arlington Heights residents can take a stand for equality before the law and put an end to special deals for corporate welfare.
The smarter play would be to improve the economic and fiscal climate for every Illinois business and resident.
Hopefully, Arlington Heights will be the first of many Illinois communities to declare themselves free of the corporate welfare curse.
Brian Costin is deputy state director of Americans for Prosperity-Illinois.
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