As the White Sox look for up to $1 billion in public money for a new stadium in Chicago's South Loop, some can't help but recall when the Illinois General Assembly said yes to taxpayer funds to build what's now known as Guaranteed Rate Field.
Back in 1988, with Mike Madigan as speaker of the house, Madigan actually stopped the clock to avoid a midnight deadline.
Former State Rep. John Dunn from Decatur was there the night that Madigan and Gov. Jim Thompson secured the votes needed for $200 million in public financing for a new White Sox stadium.
"To the best of my knowledge, you and me and all us taxpayers own the White Sox stadium, and the White Sox pay rent," Dunn said.
Before that vote on June 1, 1988, the White Sox threatened to leave Chicago's South Side for St. Petersburg Florida, a familiar storyline seemingly playing out again as Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf evaluates options for a new home for the team.
In the heat of the debate on the final night of the 1988 legislative session, Dunn stood up and yelled, "we can’t take care of the children, we can’t take care of the poor, we can’t take care of the sick, we can’t take care of the mentally ill. Let's shut this place down and go home and forget the White Sox."
That midnight deadline was important because after midnight, not just a majority, but a three-fifths vote was needed. Madigan secured the votes needed, but it was at 12:03 a.m.
"I ran right down to the clerk's office and got the roll call," Dunn said.
He saved the copy of that roll call that had a 12:03 a.m. stamp on it. The next day that time stamp disappeared.
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Madigan told reporters, "the speaker declared the bill passed at 11:59 p.m." Reporters reminded him, "but it wasn’t 11:59." Madigan said, "yes it was." Gov. Thompson added, "when the Speaker says what time it is, that’s what time it is."
Fast-forward to 2024, Reinsdorf was in Springfield this week, maneuvering through a maze of reporters as he moved from one meeting to another with the four top lawmakers to explain why the Sox again need a new stadium, this time in the South Loop.
Reinsdorf is warning that the team could relocate to Nashville and has already met with the Nashville mayor.
When asked, "is it going to be a tough sell at this time?" Reinsdorf replied, "there’s going to be an appropriate time. Now isn’t the time."
As Dunn sees it, lawmakers should think long and hard before they say yes.
"The first time was a rip-off," he said, "and how do I know it won't be a rip-off again."
Of course complicating the push for public funding, the White Sox aren't the only ones seeking a new home. The Chicago Bears are also looking for a deal for a new stadium at the same time.
