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Bears Arlington Heights Legislation Described as Nearly Ready for Vote

A long-time Bears suburban stadium opponent told WSCR AM-670 he is on board with a vote to let the team build in Arlington Heights and the bill is nearly ready.
Gene Chamberlain|
The train station next to the property owned by the Bears, part of the reason it's more fan friendly than a Hammond, Ind. site.
The train station next to the property owned by the Bears, part of the reason it's more fan friendly than a Hammond, Ind. site. | Chicago Bears On SI Photo: Gene Chamberlain

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Even as the Bears strengthen potential long-term ties with Indiana in pursuit of a stadium, it appears Illinois is finally closing in on getting its act together.

Of course, the clock is ticking on legislators, but it truly does seem to all be coming together for an Arlington Heights stadium. It's not done yet, though.

Not only has Gov. J.B. Pritzker become more involved in pushing for the "megaproject bill" that would give the Bears tax certainty and infrastructure for the indoor Arlington Park Racetrack stadium, but now a long-time opponent is on board. And he says the bill is nearly done.

It definitely required a push, though.

Speaking on WSCR's Mully & Haugh Show, Illinois state rep. Kam Buckner said the bill was nearly complete. Pritzker earlier this week characterized the situation as having the "scaffolding" built for the bill.

"I would agree with him," Buckner said. "But I would push a little harder. I think that we are past the scaffolding.

"We've poured the floors. I think we're at the punch list right now. We're going through the building, fixing every last detail, paint touch-ups, door lining, trim, fixers, making sure that we're  doing it without imperfection."

Buckner admitted he was formerly part of the group attempting to keep the Bears in Chicago. That option disappeared long ago as the Bears zeroed in on their own property in Arlington Heights or a sweet deal in Hammond, Ind., and it took until very recently for Buckner, other Chicago state representatives and even the governor to realize they were about to force the team out of state by refusing to give up their idea of preserving the team for the city.

They don't seem to have convinced Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, but the situation is now dire.

"We are extremely close to getting this done," Buckner told Mike Mulligan and David Haugh. "We are in constant contact with the Bears. We are moving. We're almost here. We're very close."

Added Buckner: "We are literally almost there."

Buckner maintained the delay with the bill is because it doesn't just pertain to the Bears but other potential projects and also because they're trying to address every single detail so that it doesn't become a project like the reconstruction of Soldier Field in 2002.

"It was a failure that didn't help taxpayers, it didn't help the Bears, and it locked them into a deal that wasn't workable," Buckner said of the Soldier Field rebuild.

Buckner wanted to discount the effect of deadlines, Indiana's competition, and other factors, but these have all combined to force the state into finally addressing this.

They have until the end of this spring legislative session at the end of May, and might not even have that long. The Bears were set to go to Indiana on Friday for a meeting with officials there, according to WSCR. The Tribune's Brad Biggs has reported they also have an upcoming virtual meeting with the NFL stadium committee on April 29 to report the stadium status.

NFL approval isn't required for moving a team within 75 miles of the home city, according to NFL by-laws. Hammond would be well within that distance. However, the Bears do receive funds for the stadium construction from the league, and it would definitely help to have the committee's approval of their plan.

These deadlines and the pressure are finally giving the necessary push needed for team president Kevin Warren and owner George McCaskey to keep the Bears as the "pride and joy of Illinois," as their long-standing fight song says.

The city still owes more than $500 million on its end of the reconstruction project with Soldier Field from 24 years ago, while the Bears/NFL paid off their part of the agreement long ago. What happens with the city's debt and also a possible fee for the Bears to "make things right," with city haven't been revealed publicly by anyone, yet.

When the Browns decided to leave Cleveland's lakefront stadium and build a suburban site, they paid $100 million as a parting gift of sorts. Would the Bears do something like this?

All seems like it's about to be revealed, because if it isn't done before the end of this legislative session at the latest, and possibly by early May, then  none of it will matter and Bears fans will need to get used to their team being like the Giants and Jets, teams that play out of state.

As a postscript, it appears there are still some tough feelings involved because Buckner said the entire situation has resulted from the Bears trying to move too quickly to purchase the Arlington Heights property without a complete plan.

Of course, the Bears didn't control when that property came available. And what Buckner didn't include was how former Mayor Lori Lightfoot pushed the Bears in that direction with her shoddy and unprofessional handling of their desire to build a sportsbook at Soldier Field.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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