Hotel workers in Chicago are fighting back against two proposals for new Bears and White Sox stadiums. A hotel tax would help fund the mega-projects, but the Unite Here Local 1 Union representing hotel room attendants believe those dollars should go toward worker salaries.
The Bears want to use public funds to fill a $900 million gap to build a new stadium. In order to not put that burden on taxpayers, they want to continue using a 2% Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (ISFA) Hotel Tax.
Dozens of hotel workers rallied outside Solider Field on Monday to fight against it.
"Instead of subsidizing stadium mega developments, we should reinvest in our neighborhoods," said Unite Here Local 1 Executive VP Lou Weeks. "The neighborhoods that would stand to benefit the most are working-class neighborhoods Brighton Park, Austin, Gage Park, Humboldt Park."
That's because the majority of union members live in those communities, Weeks said.
A 2 percent ISFA hotel tax is already in place to help fund the current Soldier Field addition from 2002 and the 1989 White Sox stadium. The Bears are proposing to expand that tax another 40 years to fund a new stadium.
Union members believe the tax should be eliminated, not expanded.
According to the union, the average hotel room rate in Chicago in 2023 was about $228 per night, meaning the 2 percent hotel tax generates $4.56 per room.
Union leaders want that money to be allocated to workers' salaries instead, meaning they could make on average $14,000 more per year.
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"I would be able to help my son through college, I would be able to keep up with the rise in property tax so we can continue to stay in our neighborhood," said Latonia Marshall, who has been a hotel room attendant for 17 years.
"Why do the Bears deserve a new stadium or more money instead of me and my family," she said.
The Bears say the ISFA was created specifically to assist in building sports venues.
There also is no guarantee hotels would reallocate the money to worker salaries. That's something the union would need to push for.
"We would count on them to give the money to the room attendants who clean the rooms and do the work that brings the tourists to Chicago," Weeks said.
