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Illinois Still Has One Last Chance to Keep Bears From Moving to Indiana

Illinois still has one narrow path to keep the Bears from moving to Indiana, but only if state leaders act fast with a real stadium plan this summer, finally.
Gene Chamberlain|
Halas Hall has made its statement, and now if the state of Illinois wants back in the game it will need quick action.
Halas Hall has made its statement, and now if the state of Illinois wants back in the game it will need quick action. | Gene Chamberlain photo | BearsOnSI

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Chicago Bears

Some of the reaction to the announcement by the Bears' board about focusing on Indiana rather than Illinois sites proved predictable, even comical.

Of all of them, Arlington Heights State Senator Mark Walker had the most realistic attitude, although not 100% accurate.

Speaking in an Arlington Heights Daily Herald article by Christopher Placek, Walker put up the white flag.

"I think it’s a done deal," Walker said.

He did offer an explanation.

“We got outbid with cash from the taxpayers of Indiana,” he said, according to Placek. “That’s the bottom line.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson weighed in with his usual plucky attitude, even as some seized upon the Bears' announcement and read between the lines to look for a ray of hope Illinois could still get involved.

“Without a final site selection, until we see shovels in the ground in Hammond, the city of Chicago will continue to engage in discussions grounded in the interests of our residents,” Johnson said.

Everyone in Illinois should thank the mayor for his service, smile and ask him to sit this one out.

If anyone deserves the most blame for failing to get a deal done after three years of trying and five years since the Bears bid on the property in Arlington Heights, it's him. It's possible they might have passed some legislation without his office's intervention.

For the first time — possibly ever — the mayor is right. There is a small ray of hope still for Illinois. It's not very much to go on, but if they really want to keep hope alive they can. Here's how. This is the only way they get the Bears back because to use a metaphor from the sport now, Indiana has the football, has a killer power running game, and they're eating up the clock with Illinois looking at a two-score deficit.

1. Fast action

What Illinois needs to do next is immediate. Once digging begins, it's over.

Summer can't go by without an exact and purposeful method for helping the Bears put down their $2 billion to build their stadium, wherever it is. It means a real plan first, not some half-baked concept that lawyers talk about on the side like Johnson had going on in April. It needs to be a complete and full proposal and submitted rapidly.

For every day this doesn't happen, it's a day Indiana is coming up with more solutions to any issue there might be in that state. Ties between the Bears and Indiana now become greater and greater. Indiana is coming up with solutions, Illinois with obstacles.

Theoretical arguments don't matter much now. It's like Caleb Williams facing a two-touchdown deficit with four minutes left. Whether the game plan was good or bad doesn't matter, nor does whether he made the right read in the second quarter. It's now do-or-die time.

It means an unlikely summer session in Springfield, or at the very least coming up with a concrete plan during the next few months, and having it ready to be passed and implemented by the start of the next legislative session. It might not be enough time for the Bears because that session isn't until November.

At the rate of speed Indiana has moved when there is a chance, Illinois better move now.

Considering how Bernie Sanders and Greg Casar sought to come up with national legislation restricting the rights of pro sports team owners to move the teams they own, expect the Bears to act quickly, too. They don't want to get caught in Illinois that bill becomes a law. The bill most likely would never get through Congress and if it did President Donald Trump might not sign it. Then again, he might have old grudges against the NFL from his days as a USFL owner. Who knows?

Either way, the city and state can't assume anything, and need to get a plan in motion. They need to realize the reality facing them. Too many assumed the Bears were bluffing and called their bluff about Indiana. They weren't bluffing.

2. One plan, one site

Trying to float Chicago as an alternative is not going to work as Arlington Heights was where the Bears had the property, were ready to begin digging and had done the most legwork. This Chicago idea that came in late and incomplete, wasn't being considered. If it was, the Bears would have had that as one of three alternatives they had in front of them. It was just an idea of Chicago's mayor. If that is the idea they think works, though, then they should go with it.

One site, one plan and get the whole legislature behind it first — anything multiple or vague is going to decrease chances to lure the Bears back across the lines to Illinois.

3. Slag heap

This is out of Illinois' control. They have to hope that land for the stadium is truly as toxic as the Tribune suggested in its "slag heap" article.

This is an unknown. The Bears did testing on the land's toxicity, because of its industrial past. The results were not revealed by them or the Tribune article. If they're actually planning a move there as they say, it must be assumed they know it's fine. At least Hammond's mayor says it's "pristine."

If there is a problem, it would mean Indiana must relocate the stadium site and that would definitely buy Illinois more time to get its move into gear.

Should any of these factors faiil to come together, it would indeed be like Walker told the Daily Herald. It would be a done deal.

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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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