Conversations in Springfield about a new Chicago Bears stadium in Arlington Heights are heating up, and the village’s mayor said a decision on a stadium deal could come by the end of the month.

Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tinaglia said the Bears won’t wait around much longer.

The Illinois House was back in session this week, and the next couple weeks could be crucial to making a Bears stadium deal a reality.

Tinaglia said the Bears won’t wait until the end of the state’s legislative session in May to get a deal done; a deal that, for the Bears, must include certainty on their property taxes.

“The pressure is on to try and wrap it up with capital ASAP,” Tinaglia said

Tinaglia has been watching Springfield closely as talks between the Pritzker administration, state lawmakers, and the Bears continue regularly.

“I can promise you that no one at Halas Hall wants to wait till the end of May for this to be solved,” TInaglia said.

Lawmakers are debating a major tax incentive package aimed at keeping the bears in Illinois. The bill would allow the Bears — or any developer investing more than $500 million dollars in a project – to negotiate property taxes directly with local governments for up to 40 years.

The measure advanced out of an Illinois House committee last month, but has yet to receive a full floor vote.

Now, with the primary elections over in Illinois, Tinaglia said it’s time to act. The legislation still needs 60 votes in the Illinois House and 30 in the Illinois Senate to pass.

Tinaglia said he’s confident a deal can get done.

Lawmakers from Chicago initially pushed back on any deal to help the Bears build a stadium in Arlington Heights, hoping to keep the team in Chicago.

But after talks stalled, the Bears expanded their stadium search to Indiana, a move that raised the stakes as Indiana lawmakers quickly approved their own legislation to lure the Bears across the state line.

Meantime, the Kansas City Chiefs struck a deal to move across state lines from Missouri to Kansas, a warning sign that NFL teams are willing to leave if the right deal isn’t on the table.

“That really opened up everybody’s eyes that, ‘Hey, maybe they would really leave. Somebody else is doing it, right?’” Tinaglia said.

That also helped push Illinois leaders to move faster and have a more united front to keep the Bears from leaving the state.

“It wasn’t about Arlington Heights versus Chicago any longer. This is now about keeping one of the most fabulous franchises in the whole NFL here in Illinois,” Tinaglia said.

The mayor said Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois state Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) have been the key negotiators to make a deal to keep the Bears in Illinois happen-

The Illinois legislative session ends May 31, but Tinaglia said a stadium deal needs to move forward in the next two weeks to bring the Bears to Arlington Heights and avoid losing them to Indiana.

“If we can get that done sometime before the end of the month, the hope is that we actually have a vote and kind of rest the concerns of the team,” he said.

Illinois basketball got a big win on Thursday night, but the celebrating is now over, as VCU awaits.

The Illini looked incredible against Penn. This is exactly what I was hoping for, and now Illinois gets a chance to knock off another double-digit seed to advance to the Sweet 16.

VCU is clearly tough, though. They knocked off a talented North Carolina squad in the first round, and now they have even more confidence. Illinois has to be ready for a battle.

Here is the Illinois basketball vs VCU how to watch, series history, and players to watch

• Illinois basketball vs VCU – How to watch

Illinois moved on to the Round of 32, and the No. 3 seed will now face No. 11 VCU. This is a massive game that will decide which program moves on to the second weekend and the Sweet 16.

The Illinois vs VCU contest will take place on Saturday, March 21, at 6:50 p.m. CT/7:50 p.m. ET. We get the main channel, as CBS will televise the big matchup.

• Illinois basketball vs VCU – Series history

I want to say there is a long history between Illinois and VCU. These two teams have been around the basketball universe for a while, but there has only ever been one matchup.

Illinois and VCU played in Miami, Florida, back in December 2016. Led by some incredible defense, the Illini took out the Rams, 64-46.

So, what I am saying is that Illinois is undefeated against VCU.

• Illinois basketball vs VCU – Players to watch

I think the first player you have to recognize is Terrence Hill Jr. Illinois is familiar with getting to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament with a Terrance Shannon Jr., but it seems that Hill is just as electric.

In the game against North Carolina, Hill was going off. He can shoot from anywhere, and he has the stones to just lob shots up when you are least expecting it. For the season, he is averaging 14.9 points per game, but he showed up in a big way in the biggest spotlight against the Tar Heels, dropping 34 points and shooting 7-of-10 from three-point range.

I am interested in seeing how VCU’s big man, Lazar Djokovic, does against Illinois’ size. He stands at 6-foot-11, and I was impressed with Djokovic against North Carolina. This kid can play.

Illinois could give VCU some problems with our size. Throwing two 7-foot-1 or bigger players at them could cause problems. I think the Illini guard length will also be a bit of a shock.

I think David Mirkovic could feast once again. Djokovic might be wrapped up in guarding Tomislav Ivisic, so Mirkovic can bully his way into the paint. That might end up being the game plan on Saturday.