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Bill to Fund McCormick Place Expansion Advances in Springfield
The State Senate has approved legislation to help fund the Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority’s (MPEA) $600-million expansion of McCormick Place. The bill would establish a larger zone for levying the current 1% tax on restaurant meals and drinks.
MPEA plans to tear down the above-ground portion of the massive convention facility’s Lakeside Center, which is widely viewed as outmoded, and build a new convention hall over King Drive. The expanded boundaries of the taxation zone would extend as far as 10 miles from McCormick. Sports stadiums with a capacity of greater than 20,000 seats would be exempt.
Although the measure could see final state legislative action by the end of the week, Chicago aldermen whose wards would be included in the taxation district criticized the proposal. “This tax was supposed to go away—not expand,” said Ald. Tom Tunney, the new chairman of the City Council’s Zoning Committee.
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