Arts & Entertainment
Chicago Bears’ Threat to Move to Indiana a ‘Slap in the Face,’ Gov. Pritzker’s Office Says
An aerial view from the southwest of a proposed Chicago Bears stadium and entertainment district in Arlington Heights. (Credit: Hart Howerton / Chicago Bears)
Gov. JB Pritzker’s office blasted the Chicago Bears announcement that they are considering moving to Northwest Indiana, since state officials have declined to subsidize their plans to build a new stadium and entertainment district in Arlington Heights.
“Suggesting the Bears would move to Indiana is a startling slap in the face to all the beloved and loyal fans who have been rallying around the team during this strong season,” according to a statement released by Pritzker.
Just six months ago, Chicago Bears CEO Kevin Warren told Mayor Brandon Johnson the team had put their plan to build a futuristic domed lakefront stadium on ice and resurrected a proposal to move to Arlington Heights.
But state officials have refused to approve a bill to freeze property tax assessments for designated “mega projects,” like a future Bears stadium, and allow tax bills to be set by local leaders.
It is likely to cost nearly $855 million to build the roads and utilities the stadium development needs, according to a team consultant.
Pritzker has previously said he would back a measure helping the Bears cover those costs, but would not back a measure that would use state funds to build facilities or protect the team from paying property taxes on the new development.
Pritzker has also urged the Bears to pay for the more than $500 million the state still owes for the renovations on Soldier Field back in 2003.
Pritzker was not the only state official to react to the announcement with fury.
State Rep. Kam Buckner, whose Chicago district includes Soldier Field, blasted the decision by the team to make the announcement just days before the Bears face the Green Bay Packers in a game that is crucial for the team’s playoff hopes.
“The McCaskey family should focus on hosting a playoff game in a stadium that actually exists not distract by pontificating about hosting a Super Bowl in one that doesn’t,” Buckner said.
The request for a property tax break from an organization worth $8.9 billion is ill-timed as Illinois residents struggle to pay their bills, Buckner said.
“As people across Illinois are reeling from the weight of rising property taxes, they are not interested in a professional sports franchise cutting to the front of the line for a property tax break while families are still fighting to make their own tax bills make sense,” Buckner said.
State Rep. Mary Beth Canty, who represents Arlington Heights and introduced the bill Bears officials contend must pass if they are to stay in Cook County, said the team should change their approach.
“I encourage the Bears to engage with the General Assembly in good faith, without threats, so we can find a path forward to keep the Bears at home in Illinois,” Canty said in a statement.
But Johnson responded with another invitation for the Bears to pull a quadruple-reverse.
“The Bears belong in the city of Chicago,” Johnson said during a City Hall news conference. “And I’ve said repeatedly that the door is always open for conversations.”
The latest shift continues a four-year odyssey that began in 2021, when the once-and-perhaps future Monsters of the Midway announced they planned to leave Soldier Field, their home since 1971.
While Warren’s announcement indicated the team would consider other locations in Cook County, the team ruled out building a new stadium the former Michael Reese Hospital site in Bronzeville in a letter to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
That site, just south of Soldier Field along the Lakefront, is too narrow and is not well-served enough by public transportation to serve as the site of a stadium, according to the Bears.
Preckwinkle said the Bears’ announcement caught her off guard.
“We’re shocked and disappointed that the Bears would discuss moving to Indiana at this time,” Preckwinkle said in a statement.
The team’s lease of Soldier Field from the Chicago Park District expires in 2033. The Bears pay $6.48 million annually to use Soldier Field and can terminate that agreement early, as long as the team pays a penalty.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
