Bears' stadium decision ahead

Añadido: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]given Sunday. It's a phrase that you hear a lot during the NFL season, but this Sunday could be one of the most crucial off-season days in Chicago Bears history. The Illinois General Assembly has until then to pass the so-called mega projects bill. That's to offer tax incentives to keep the Bears in the state. But this week, a new study from the Cook County Treasurer's office addressed a growing concern over how much taxpayers and the whole county would actually stand to benefit from this potential new stadium. This right as Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson continues to make a last-hour push to try to keep the Bears in the city, even claiming that Pope Leo wants the Bears to stay. Here now is Jeremy Gorner, State House reporter with the Chicago Tribune. Jeremy, good morning to you. I know that you've been following the story for years now as we all have. Can you tell us where things stand in Springfield right now, and could we finally see some real movement over the weekend?

[00:00:57]>> Well, I think um right you know, like you said, Sunday's the last day we're going to have to, right?

[00:01:02]Um right now everything is really in flux and um uh lawmakers are, you know, working hard to negotiate this. You know, one of the things that's been a real sticking point is how do you get Chicago lawmakers um Chicago state lawmakers to incentivize um a Chicago Bears move out of the city limits. That's whether they're going to move they would move to Arlington Heights, whether they would move uh to Indiana. Of course, that's been on the table. Um so, what do you do to incentivize them? What do these lawmakers from the city of Chicago get in return? And that's I think an important thing to consider here as we go into the final days before the scheduled adjournment of the legislative session because um you know, you know, because basically um Chicago state lawmakers comprise a pretty sizable percentage of the vote in um the House and Senate. So, it'll be interesting to see what's happening, you know, you know, whatever's happening behind the scenes, how that plays out on the House and Senate floor if it gets if if if a bill were to get there by Sunday.

[00:02:09]>> Absolutely. Do you believe that the Bears are engaging with lawmakers in Springfield to try to iron things out?

[00:02:17]You reported that Democratic State Senator Bill Cunningham said that they need to step up their efforts, as you just mentioned. So, has that happened?

[00:02:26]>> So, I mean, they have contract lobbyists that are in the capital all the time.

[00:02:31]You know, I saw, you know, one or two of them this week as a matter of fact.

[00:02:36]You know, have I seen upper Bears management at the state capital? Was Kevin Warren there? Anybody from the McCaskey family over there? No, I have not seen that.

[00:02:46]You know, I'm sure that there are, you know, that there have been, you know, discussions going on periodically over the last 3 years. Whatever efforts that that the Bears are putting forth as far as their interactions with lawmakers, lawmakers are not satisfied with. I know that's not just something I've heard from Senator Cunningham. I've heard that from, you know, a couple of couple others, you know, as well, other lawmakers as well. But, I mean, you know, look, you know, the McCaskey family's been talking for decades about wanting to move, you know, the Bears to Arlington Heights. And the Bears have been part of the process. I mean, there have been meetings between one of Governor Governor J.B. Pritzker's key aids along with legislative leaders and you know, contingent from the Chicago Bears from management.

[00:03:39]But, you know, whether anything's going to materialize, you know, we'll have to see. I know there've been reports that whatever mega projects bill had passed a couple, you know, last month in the House could be stripped down, um, and completely altered, um, you know, from something that we might see, you know, in the next couple of days, you know, resulting apparently from, you know, Bears, um, management's input.

[00:04:04]>> So, Jeremy, you mentioned that we basically will have to see some movement over the weekend of of some kind, but if we wake up on Monday morning with no legislation, does that mean that the Bears effectively effectively would be going to Indiana?

[00:04:20]>> I think it's hard to tell. I mean, it really depends on who you talk to. Um, you know, there's some people who say, "Yeah, I mean, this this really I mean, some people who are involved in the process who say, 'Yeah, I mean, if the Bears can't pass, I mean, if the if the legislature can't pass legislation that would incentivize the Bears to move to Arlington Heights by getting them, um, you know, um, special payments certainty, um, in lieu of higher taxes, you know, in Arlington Heights that that they're trying to get, there is a possibility that, um, you know, the Bears organization may choose to move to Indiana now, um, but you know, we we just don't know. I mean, they've seemed to really, you know, they have this $197 million um, swath of land that used to be the Arlington racetrack that they've put a lot of investment in, um, you know, since they purchased it a couple of years ago. You would think, um, it would be behoove them to to not want to use that land for something [snorts] like this. But, um, um, we'll see what happens. It's it's it's really kind of hanging in the balance now, um, and you know, Kevin Warren, the Bears president and CEO, what he has said is that he wants to make, um, a decision by early by late spring, early summer. Well, that's like around May 31st. So, by that math, you tell. You know, they have some people saying that they could be resigned to moving to Indiana if they don't pass the bill, but if they but if they don't we're We're not going to know until, um, Sunday passes, unfortunately.

[00:05:48]>> Yeah. Well, now it is just a couple of days away. So, Jeremy Gorner for us this morning. Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your reporting. We will for sure be keeping an eye on your reporting all weekend long and into next week [music] and beyond. Jeremy, thank you. We'll see you right after the break.