Illinois Quick Hits: Road fund could help renovate Soldier Field

Illinois Quick Hits: Road fund could help renovate Soldier Field

February 23, 2026/
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By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Chicago Park District officials are reportedly planning to use Illinois gas tax revenue to help transform Soldier Field into a concert and special event venue.

Fox 32 Chicago reports that the $630 million proposal would break down to $130 million in stadium renovations and half a billion dollars in surrounding infrastructure.

The report says park district officials are pitching state lawmakers to include money from the state’s road fund to help with the infrastructure. The Chicago Bears will owe nearly $90 million if they break their lease with the park district before 2033.

YOUNG VOTER EMPOWERMENT BILL

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, and state Rep. Kim Du Buclet, D-Chicago, are pushing legislation that would require school districts to provide all eligible students graduating from high school with the opportunity to register to vote.

Welch joined Du Buclet at a press conference in Chicago on Saturday to advocate for House Bill 4339.

If passed, the measure will take effect in time for the 2026-2027 school year.

TWO FACE MACHINE GUN CHARGES AFTER UNDERCOVER PROBE

Two Chicago men have been arrested in connection with a federal firearms investigation in the city’s southwest suburbs.

Prosecutors say Matthew Barraza, 21, illegally sold a loaded handgun with a machine gun conversion device and about 127 grams of cocaine to an undercover law enforcement officer in Bolingbrook on Feb. 5.

Edwin Moreno, 27, is charged with possessing a firearm with a machine gun conversion device in Joliet on Jan. 15.

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