Nick Loper

Proud American, Rowdy Arizonan, Dog Dad To A Bear, Loves Electricity & Power

[TEP @TEPenergy]

In 2025, the average TEP customer experienced just 42 minutes without power all year – our best ever reliability. That performance doesn’t happen by accident: https://t.co/PleiNinojR

[Yogi @Houseofyogi]

Chicago lost the Bears this week. A team that's been in the city since 1921.

They didn't lose them to a bigger market or a better deal. The Bears decided they'd rather be a tenant in Indiana than deal with Illinois for one more year.

Think about how badly you have to run a place for that to be the smart move.

They lost them for two reasons.

The people running Illinois would rather villainize a builder than keep one. And they're bad at their jobs.

In 2021 the Bears spent $197M on the old Arlington Park racetrack.

Before they could break ground, Cook County valued the empty lot at $192M (Bears said $60M). They were salivating at the chance to extort a building that didn't even exist yet.

That fight dragged on for years.

The Bears were ready to put $2B into the stadium. All they wanted was a promise the county wouldn't reassess them into oblivion, plus $855M for infrastructure everyone uses. Roads, transit, utilities. A $3B project, two thirds of it private money pouring into Illinois.

Springfield had since 2021 to get this done. They dragged it to the final night of session, passed it through the Senate at 3:39AM, and the House went home without voting.

So now it's all gone.

The funniest part? This started because Cook County tried to grab the tax early. They knew a built stadium would pay $53M a year. Now they get under $4M on a vacant lot. No jobs, no buildout, no new anything.

Congrats on fighting for scraps and losing the whole prize.

Pritzker: they're "an $8.5B valued business" that doesn't need propping up.

But be smart for a second. Almost every NFL city throws in public money for a stadium. Not charity. The return is real. Tourism, hotels, restaurants, jobs, game days, property tax on a huge development. The math works.

Indiana did the math. While Illinois sat on it for years, Indiana passed a bill in months, put up $1B, and took the team.

And the Bears took a worse deal to get there. In Illinois they were going to own their stadium. In Indiana they rent it from the state. A team that wanted to build its own home gave up ownership just to escape Chicago.

Nobody won but Indiana. The Bears lost their stadium. Illinois lost the team, the $2B, and $53M a year in taxes.

Pritzker after they left: "I wasn't willing to give up billions of dollars of taxpayer money to give it to a billionaire-owned family or team."

There it is. "Billionaire-owned."

That's how Democrats talk about any business right before they run it out of town. Call them a billionaire, act like you're saving working families, take a victory lap while the tax base drives across the state line.

Meanwhile they're running the whole state into the ground. And you already know how this ends. You're living in it.

Pensions are $143B in the hole, worst in the country and not close. You pay $6,285 a year in property taxes, double the $2,969 national average, for a city that's $1.15B in the red. The mayor called its finances "the point of no return."

When you run things this badly, you sell what's left.

They leased the parking meters for 75 years to Morgan Stanley and a sovereign wealth fund in Abu Dhabi. Took $1.15B and burned through it in two years. The investors already made it all back, with 58 years left to collect.

Sold the Skyway. Sold the downtown garages. Every asset that made money, gone for one check.

But a fixed property tax rate for a team that's been here 106 years? That's "propping up billionaires."

Companies are leaving. Boeing for Virginia. Caterpillar for Texas. Citadel for Miami. In 2023 alone Illinois lost 56,000 people and $6B in income to other states. The ones who left earned a third more than the ones who moved in.

Indiana didn't outbid anyone. AAA credit, 16 years straight. A $676M surplus. Fourth-lowest debt per person in the country. They just weren't a disaster.

Illinois could have collected $53M a year. It chose zero. Ignore all the bad management but make sure to stick it to those evil, pesky billionaires.

[Nick Loper @NickLoperAZ]

@VoteKThompson @jeffreym_nelson Hondo was always another great John Wayne film - it’s prob my favorite

[Palmer Luckey @PalmerLuckey]

It is time for the United States Postal Service to ban junk mail.

Unsolicited spam calls are already prohibited by the FCC. Emails are heavily regulated by the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Junk mail is the majority of mail, 100 million trees per year. Enough!

[AZSenateRepublicans @AZSenateGOP]

STARTING TODAY AT 9 A.M.: Watch the Senate Committee on Government LIVE

➡️https://t.co/Lk3LkLQ0CV

@JakeHoffmanAZ @WendyRogersAZ @JohnKavanagh_AZ @DaveFarnsworth_

[Klara @klara_sjo]

There's so much beauty in the world.

Here are the beautiful snow capped mountains of Tennessee.

[Nick Loper @NickLoperAZ]

Infrastructure is important to tourism. Poor infrastructure means less tourism. This should be a priority fix for southern Arizona to visitors and locals can visit one of the greatest diamonds our desert has to offer.

[KVOA News 4 Tucson @KVOA]

The road to Mount Lemmon is currently closed due to winter weather conditions and debris. https://t.co/JtFzxVg91W

[TEP @TEPenergy]

This morning, @GovernorHobbs helped us cut the ribbon on our new Roadrunner Reserve energy storage facility, which is strengthening reliability in a way that is sustainable. Gov. Hobbs, along with other local leaders, toured the 200-megawatt system: https://t.co/QVntTAZZ7P

[Nature is Amazing ☘️ @AMAZlNGNATURE]

In Iceland, you can actually stand between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates — touching both continents at once.

[Mary Coleman @Mary_reports]

WOW!! Check out Tanque Verde Falls today after the last couple of days of rain. Thank you to Christopher Verdugo for sharing. Just gorgeous!😍

[PPRFantasyTips @PPRFantasyTips]

So every Sunday you wake up, go to the couch and watch NFL redzone for 7 straight hours?”

“Yes Dave.”

“You don’t do anything but scroll X, stare at the TV screen & check your fantasy matchups?”

“That’s right.”

“Do you win your leagues?”

“No Dave.”

[KVOA News 4 Tucson @KVOA]

Project Blue is moving forward in Pima County without Tucson's annexation. This project aims to boost Southern Arizona's digital infrastructure, create thousands of jobs and support local priorities. https://t.co/MHRRi3LDOL

[Nick Loper @NickLoperAZ]

@consrevativdork If anything it would mean an offset of infrastructure costs. If you now have a new customer(s), you can sell more and spread your costs out. The US should be an energy exporter and leader.

[Arizona Chamber @AZChamber]

🚨 Just announced: A major win for Arizona’s energy and economic future.

We’re proud to stand with 50+ business, industry, and community organizations across the state in support of Transwestern’s new natural gas pipeline—a critical investment to keep Arizona competitive, reliable, and ready for growth.

📎 Read more ⬇️
https://t.co/zasOjuTDlO

[TEP @TEPenergy]

We plan to convert two units at the coal-fired Springerville Generating Station to run on natural gas by 2030. The project will maintain access to affordable, around-the-clock energy for our existing customers while reducing carbon emissions. https://t.co/SycvNq3iyB

[Mt Lemmon Hotel @Mtlemmonhotel]

Mt. Lemmon, Arizona on 7/16/25. 🏔️

[Nick Loper @NickLoperAZ]

@JustinWilmethAZ @TMartinez4AZ @TJShope It’s always that two lane stretch, gets worse every day

[Nick Loper @NickLoperAZ]

@BlackmanForAZ Great message to start the day with, thank you!

[Utility Dive @UtilityDive]

https://t.co/4Dt2gx6BWT