Bear Digest

Bears Initiated Talks with Hammond and Got an Offer Tough to Refuse

Analysis: The Hammond mayor told ESPN AM-1000 it was the Bears who came to him first but if that was merely for leverage it was the best kind because it sparked a legitimate offer.
Gene Chamberlain|
The Bears stadium controversy rolls on with deadlines approaching at month's end.
The Bears stadium controversy rolls on with deadlines approaching at month's end. | REUTERS

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Chicago Bears

A comment by the mayor of Hammond on Bears flagship station ESPN AM-1000 seems to be sparking a silly backlash against the team among the more naive in the fan base.

While talking to John Jurkovic and Carmen DeFalco on Carmen and Jurko, Hammond mayor Thomas M. McDermott Jr. said it was the Bears who first came to his Indiana city to gauge interest for building a stadium and not the other way around. In fact, he said they talked around Thanksgiving of 2025.

"And I would like to say that I'm this brilliant mayor that pitched it to the Bears and they were completely interested in my pitch but that's not the way it worked out," McDermott told Jurkovic and DeFalco. "It was exactly the opposite. The Bears were interested in Hammond and approached us and I was beyond thrilled, to be honest with you.  

"And even, and the area that they're talking about, is, you know, it's a beautiful part of our city and, you know, it's not gonna be easy to get rid of that part of the city. You know, the Lost Marsh, in that area around there. And you know, because everybody loves the green space and everybody loves the golf course and what it brings to our community but a project of this magnitude is a dream for any mayor or any community."

The fact the Bears approached Indiana first is being trumpeted as proof the Bears used Hammond only as leverage to get what they want in Illinois, and also it will probably be used by the forces of Gov. J.B. Pritzker as an excuse he couldn't keep the Bears in Illinois, if they actually do move. They can always claim the Bears were never sincere about staying if they approached Hammond first.

Regardless of who approached who and whether it's intended as leverage or not, it was going to be leverage no matter what happened. It was leverage, and the best kind, because it was real.

The Bears were just sitting on their hands and wishing Illinois would  provide the infrastructure and the tax certainty they want and need for the stadium.

What happened is McCaskey finally got fed up with all of the game-playing by Pritzker and the Democratic Party running Chicago and Illinois after more than two years since they bought Arlington International Racecourse.

He then did what was urged here. He went out and got leverage.

Of course, in this case, my recommendation last year was get a site in the Pleasant Prairie, Wis. area just over the border and only a short drive from Halas Hall. But he found someone who was more willing to actually put together a package the Bears not only could live with, but one better than they have in Arlington Heights even though they own that property.

Thinking the Bears shouldn't have leverage of some sort is totally naive.

If the Bears didn't pursue leverage of some sort, this whole stadium idea wouldn't be anywhere at the moment.

As it stands, they have a very real possibility of moving to Indiana because Illinois once again is getting bogged down in politics. The latest is the union card they're playing. They're setting up to call the Bears scabs or even racists if they go to Indiana because the bill that passed Indiana's Senate calls for no restrictions with union construction or minority construction companies, while the Illinois"megaproject legislation" says 20% of the contracts must be awarded to minority-owned construction companies and calls for union construction.

"Indiana, on the other hand, put it right in their stadium bill—they don’t care," Rolling Meadows mayor Lara Sanoica told a crowd at an Arlington Heights stadium rally per the Daily Herald. "Their sales pitch is that you can build a world-class stadium by shortchanging the workers who build it.

“We have to compete—we have to win—when once-in-a generation opportunities come to our doorstep.”

The bottom line is the Bears are very willing to comply with such restrictions and just want the project to begin as soon as possible, and the leverage they have with Indiana both forces Illinois to get moving on it or could just give them a new out-of-state home.

It's very real even if it is leverage. McCaskey deserves all the credit for playing hardball successfully with a group of politicians who have been doing it for decades.

Actually, the handiwork of president Kevin Warren must be present, as well. McCaskey hadn't done this on his own before.

Now it's on Illinois to get this done because the Indiana House will need to pass their funding bill by the close of business Feb. 27, although it can be extended as late as March 14.

Meanwhile, Pritzker works "behind the scenes" with a later deadline at the end of May for Illinois legislation.

However, that Illinois deadline is actually much closer when it appears Indiana is going to get it's business done much sooner and now its legislators are pressing the Bears for a commitment.

This is how real leverage works.

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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.